MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. More than 17,000 Syrian refugees were able to leave the Rukban refugee camp due to joint efforts of Russia and Syria, Head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev said at a joint meeting of the Russian and Syrian inter-agency coordination headquarters on resettling the refugees in Syria.

"Today, thanks to consistent and coordinated actions undertaken by Russia and Syria, it was possible to ensure that already more than 17,000 Syrian refugees left [the camp], who were forcefully made to stay in the Rukban camp, situated in the US occupied 55-km Al-Tanf zone," he said adding that the Syrian government is ensuring safe and dignified resettlement of civilians.

According to Mizintsev, currently around two million Syrian citizens returned to their homeland, more than 500,000 of which returned from abroad. The biggest number of refugees come from Jordan and Lebanon.

The Rukban refugee camp emerged on the Syrian-Jordanian border in 2014 after Amman closed the border due to security and economic concerns. The area, which is controlled by illegal armed gangs, is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.