US-Led Coalition Denies Preventing Exit of Refugees From Rukban Camp - Spokesman

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-led coalition, fighting against Daesh had not prevented the exit of refugees from the Rukban camp, located in the US-controlled area in Syria's al-Tanf, a spokesman of the coalition, VR Col. Sean Ryan, told Sputnik on Sunday.

"The Coalition has never denied anyone regarding anything related to humanitarian efforts or the return of IDP’s [internally displaced persons], and the Coalition mission is still the enduring defeat of ISIS," Ryan said.

The head of the Russian Defence Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation accused the coalition on Saturday of refusing to allow bus convoys for evacuating refugees enter al-Tanf.

On Friday, Russia and Syria sent convoys to the Rukban camp, which houses around 40,000 displaced people, so that the refugees could return to the places of their permanent residence.

In January, the World Health Organization (WHO) described people residing in the camp as "trapped," adding that they live "in deplorable conditions." Limited water supply, bitterly cold weather and poorly functioning health care facilities contribute to the rise of diseases, which include influenza, measles, tuberculosis and chronic respiratory diseases, the WHO stated.