1,800,000 Syrian refugees have already returned back home, reports the Russian-Syrian interagency coordination headquarters. Every day, almost 2,000 peaceful Syrians cross the border. The military says that the number would be greater if the US didn't stop people from leaving the camps located on the territories controlled by Washington.
Alexander Rudenko with the details from Syria.
Rare footage of German reporters, the Al-Hol refugee camp. A child is wrapped in plastic foil. Doctors failed to save their tiny patient, along with the dozens of other children that die every day here. Not far from the Turkish border in northern Syria is a territory occupied by Kurds and their American supervisors. 80,000 people are basically abandoned to the whims of fate.
The same situation has occurred on the opposite side of the republic, to the south from Damascus close to the Jordanian border. The Rukban camp is located there. It's become the topic of gossip, a rather fearful topic. It's an actual trap for another 30,000 Syrians. Bandits hide behind the residents of the camp. They only let out those who can pay them.
Amran Diam: "When we fled from Rukban, we were stopped by terrorists who said that each of us had to pay them 100,000 liras".
Up to $1,000 to leave. The enormous sums that poor refugees are forced to pay are voiced at the joint Russian-Syrian briefing. Moscow and Damascus rely upon the words of those who fled the camps.
Mikhail Mizintsev, Chief of National Defense Management Center: "By artificially creating inhumane conditions on the illegally occupied territories of Syria, the United States of America is creating a foundation for the return of terrorist organizations that would maintain instability both in the country, we mean Syria, and the region in general".
Those who miraculously escaped Rukban have found a new home in Homs. The prisoners of the occupied territories aren't the only ones expected at home. Over the years of the conflict, over six million people fled the war.
Faisal Mekdad, Deputy Foreign Minister: "The return of the refugees has been a mean of political maneuver and blackmail for the Western countries. When the refugees could finally return, these countries began to spread intimidating propaganda among the refugees to spread fear among them".
The country is at peace again, but not everyone can feel it yet. Over 100,000 people in Rukban and Al Hol are the hostages of the situation and the terrorists.
Alexander Rudenko, Mikhail Vitkin, and Igor Vologdin, Vesti, Syria.
