Report: Over 4,300 vacate Syria displaced camp

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian state media is reporting that more than 4,300 residents of a remote displaced people’s camp near the border with Jordan have returned to government-controlled areas over the last month.

SANA on Monday quoted a Syrian-Russian co-ordination committee that oversees efforts to vacate the Rukban camp.

The camp has been a source of tension between Russia and the U.S., as it lies near a U.S military base near the border and inside a so-called “de-confliction zone” agreed to by Moscow and Washington.

Moscow and Damascus say the U.S. is obstructing emptying the camp. Washington denies the claims. The U.N. says those leaving the camp must have safety guarantees they will not be harassed when they return to government-controlled areas. The camp houses over 40,000 people living in dire conditions.