UN completes food distribution to Syrians in desert camp near Jordan

The UN has finished distribution of aid to thousands of Syrians, mostly women and children, stranded in the desert close to the border with Jordan. A UN-led convoy of more than 70 trucks reportedly arrived Saturday under Russian army protection after months of delay in the first such aid delivery from inside Syria to the rebel-held camp that has over 50,000 people. “We finished distribution of all items, food, sanitation and hygiene supplies and core relief items,” Fadwa Abed Rabou Baroud, a UN official with the convoy told Reuters on Wednesday. “The overall humanitarian situation in Rukban camp remains dire,” Baroud said. The US State Department welcomed the aid to the camp. It is located close to the Tanf US military base in the desert near where the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq converge. The camp is within a “de-confliction zone” set up by US forces. The government in Damascus has accused US troops of occupying Syrian territory and providing a safe haven for rebels.