Rukban Border in East Jordan
On Saturday night, a terrorist attack occurred in the refugee border camp of Al-Rukban in eastern Jordan. The explosion was the result of a suicide bomber who rode into the camp on a motorcycle before detonating a bomb in center of the crowded Syrian camp killing five and wounding three others. While their identities were not reported, it is likely that a number of the victims were innocent Syrians. According to Jordan newsgroup Al-Dustour, the attacker targeted an humanitarian distribution center and humanitarian workers providing aid on the Syrian side of the border camp. This attack comes just hours before a shooting spree began in Jordan’s southern city of Karak.
Meanwhile, it has not been announced who carried out the attack in Rukban. Jordanian news groups are saying the attack was likely the work of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a U.S. labeled terrorist organization operating a few kilometers north of the camp. Earlier this year, ISIS carried out a suicide attack at the refugee-processing area of the border killing six Jordanian soldiers.
There are presently an estimated 80,000 Syrian refugees on Jordan’s border awaiting entrance into the country at the Al-Rukban Camp located in the demilitarized zone on Jordan’s east border with Syria. The camp lies just south of an ISIS- controlled border crossing between Iraq and Syria. Thousands of Syrians are fleeing to the borders away from major conflict zones throughout the country. Rukban saw rapid growth as greater numbers of refugees fled due to airstrikes in Aleppo, barrel bombing in Dara’a, and harsh conditions in the ISIS-held areas of Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor.
As the protracted crisis enters its sixth year, there are few options for the victims of this terrible crisis. The U.S. resettlement program is one way that the United States provides futures for Syrian refugees struggling to survive in neighboring countries and refugee camps. However, the future of this program is in question as the Trump Administration transitions into war. As a country, the United States must not shy away from our role in protecting victims of armed conflicts and increasing tides of terrorism. The terrorist attack that you did not hear about last week is one of many that have become a consistent reality for victims of the Syrian War. And still, Americans remain silent.