By Chloe Webster
Photo Credit: Hesar
According to Syria TV, the only bakery in the Rukban refugee camp closed in early February due to a flour shortage, leaving refugees in the camp without a consistent food source for at least a month.
The camp, home to around ten thousand displaced Syrians, has been under siege by the Assad regime for the past four years. Most recently, the regime, backed by Russian forces, imposed a complete siege on Rukban, effectively preventing any necessities from entering the camp.
On February 18, al-Modon reported that the flour shortage has forced the camp’s residents to depend on rice and bulgar as an alternative to bread. However, these alternatives are not a viable, long-term solution; because of the siege, these items are expensive and not readily available.
One of the few ways residents are able to purchase flour and other necessities is through the black market. Even then, the flour shortage has caused the price of basic food staples to rise significantly, and few people are able to afford these items.
Similarly, items may enter Rukban via smuggling routes from regime-controlled areas in Syria. However, sources close to the Syrian Emergency Task Force have confirmed that the smuggling routes recently closed for unknown reasons. Syria TV affirms “there are no crossings or other ways for aid to enter the camp” because Jordan closed its borders to Syrian refugees in 2016.
More recently, a one-time supply of 1500 kg of flour was delivered to Rukban from the Syria Free Army. However, this small supply only lasted for two days.
The food shortage in Rukban has forced residents to eat bread typically used to feed livestock. One video, published by Hesar on March 2, shows residents sifting through leftover bread, removing dirt and mold from the limited supply in order to use it for food.
The recent Syria-Turkey earthquake has pulled significant attention away from the rapidly deteriorating conditions in Rukban. In an effort to call international attention to the flour shortage, the civil affairs authority in the camp launched a distress call on February 27, warning the world of a famine that could soon befall Rukban’s residents