When Reem Ibrahim’s contractions started on the morning of Nov. 28, she was filled with a deep fear. She had just entered her 40th week of pregnancy and her approaching due date — normally a source of happiness and celebration — had only increased her feelings of dread.

Ibrahim, 30, required a cesarean section for a successful delivery. In most contexts, this would be a safe and routine procedure. However, Ibrahim lives in al-Rukban camp, a makeshift settlement located in a desolate strip of no-man’s-land between Syria and Jordan. Despite its 10,000 residents, al-Rukban does not have a single doctor or a hospital and suffers dire shortages in medical supplies.

Previously, the camp was serviced by a UNICEF clinic on the Jordanian side of the border. However, with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, the clinic shut in May, leaving the camp with no medical care beyond the basics.

To try to get Reem proper medical attention, Shukri Shihab, head of a mobile clinic in al-Rukban, tried to contact the US military base in al-Tanf. US forces, on behalf of the international coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS), effectively control the 55-kilometer (34-mile) area in which al-Rukban is located. Though they usually did not provide medical care for al-Rukban residents, they had allowed two women from the camp to enter the base for emergency C-sections this summer.