A woman trapped in a remote Syrian displacement camp set herself and her children on fire on Sunday in an attempted suicide which her husband said was due to dire living conditions and lack of food.
Rukban camp, described by those living there as a "hell on earth", is home to nearly 60,000 civilians who are stuck in an isolated area of the Syrian desert near the Jordanian border. They are unable to cross over to Jordan, which barred entry, and aid agencies are unable to reach the settlement regularly.
"Sundus Fatahallah, 28, attempted to burn herself and her children with fire because of the lack of food supplies at the camp," her husband Mohammed Al Sharkh told The National.
“We are originally from Palmyra in Homs province, and what happened to my family today is example of desperation, poverty and famine,” he said, adding that he is “exhausted” from the situation.
A health official inside the camp told The National that Mrs Fatahallah was transferred to a hospital in Jordan.
“Sundus is in a bad condition along with her one-year-old baby, her other two children are doing well,” said the official.
Earlier on Sunday, conflicting reports emerged that Mrs Fatahallah’s injuries were the result of a gas canister explosion rather than an attempted suicide. However, Mr Al Sharkh confirmed that she had in fact tried to take her life and those of her children.
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Read more:
Fears for civilians in Syria's Rukban camp after US troop pullout
Opinion: Plight of Rukban thousands should shame the world
Rukban residents ask to be moved to northern Syria if US troops withdraw
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Mrs Fatahallah’s neighbours managed to put out the fire, which damaged her tent, and to get the woman and her children out.
The camp remains the most desperate settlement in the war-torn country, residents say the conditions, especially during the winter, are unbearable due to harsh environments. The camp recently flooded, washing away tents and possessions and leaving some families sheltering with other residents.
Humanitarian organizations and the United Nations have had only limited access to the Rukban camp in the berm between Jordan and Syria since its formation. The last time aid was delivered to the area was in November. Even then, residents said that aid deliveries were not enough to meet demand.
Conditions inside Rukban continue to deteriorate as aid agencies struggle to send relief to the area. Water pollution, high temperatures, unsafe human waste disposal and garbage accumulation have led to major health issues. UNHCR says diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections are the camp’s leading causes of illness.
Residents of the camp have been forced from their homes in Palymra and Homs by the war and many fled President Bashar Al Assad’s regime and ISIS.
Last year at least 20 people died due to lack of food and medical services inside the camp.
The camp has been protected by a US deconfliction zone established around a nearby garrison in the town of Al Tanf, where US forces operate alongside Pentagon-backed rebel groups, including the Maghawir Al Thawra battalion.
Yet, the surprise announcement of a US withdrawal from Syria has left many fearing attacks by government forces.
The camp's management has urged world leaders, including President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May, to ensure the safety of residents by organising to relocate the camp to rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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