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| No Syrians Are Allowed Into Jordan, Agencies Say | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan is refusing to let Syrian refugees cross the border, international refugee agencies said on Wednesday, expressing fear that thousands have been left stranded with limited access to food and other supplies. | |
| “We have not recorded any Syrian refugees crossing into Jordan in the past week,” said Andrew Harper, the top official with the United Nations refugee agency in Jordan. | “We have not recorded any Syrian refugees crossing into Jordan in the past week,” said Andrew Harper, the top official with the United Nations refugee agency in Jordan. |
| The International Organization for Migration concurred, saying that no Syrians had been taken from the border area to refugee camps in Jordan since Oct. 1. | |
| However, the Jordanian government denied that the border had been closed to anyone other than those deemed a security risk. “There is no change on our open-border policy,” said a government spokesman, Mohammad Momani. “Those who are injured, women and children continue to cross, but the numbers of those entering are subject to the security assessment in the field.” | However, the Jordanian government denied that the border had been closed to anyone other than those deemed a security risk. “There is no change on our open-border policy,” said a government spokesman, Mohammad Momani. “Those who are injured, women and children continue to cross, but the numbers of those entering are subject to the security assessment in the field.” |
| Jordan is one of the Middle Eastern countries that have joined the United States-led military campaign against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. Last month, it sent warplanes to strike the militants in Syria, prompting fears of terrorist reprisals. Analysts said the threat from the Islamic State and allied groups might have prompted stricter border controls. | Jordan is one of the Middle Eastern countries that have joined the United States-led military campaign against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. Last month, it sent warplanes to strike the militants in Syria, prompting fears of terrorist reprisals. Analysts said the threat from the Islamic State and allied groups might have prompted stricter border controls. |
| “Tightening the border is a logical reaction from the government’s perspective,” said Manar Rachwani, a columnist and op-ed editor at Al Ghad, an independent daily newspaper, “especially because the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s wing in Syria, is on its border, and they are being targeted by the U.S./Arab-led coalition against ISIS. | “Tightening the border is a logical reaction from the government’s perspective,” said Manar Rachwani, a columnist and op-ed editor at Al Ghad, an independent daily newspaper, “especially because the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s wing in Syria, is on its border, and they are being targeted by the U.S./Arab-led coalition against ISIS. |
| “It’s a new reality, but we don’t know what the end game for the region will be, so there is a lot of instability and fear,” he said. | “It’s a new reality, but we don’t know what the end game for the region will be, so there is a lot of instability and fear,” he said. |
| Jamil Nimri, a member of Parliament, agreed. “Jordan has entered a war with ISIS and there is, indeed, severe security concerns,” he said. “I believe there is a connection between the bombing campaign against ISIS and the fact that no refugees have been allowed into Jordan.” | |
| More than three million Syrians, half of them children, have fled the country’s civil war to neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Until mid-2013, the flow of refugees from Syria to Jordan exceeded 2,000 per day. This rate then dropped to several hundred until last week’s sudden halt, refugee agencies said. | More than three million Syrians, half of them children, have fled the country’s civil war to neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Until mid-2013, the flow of refugees from Syria to Jordan exceeded 2,000 per day. This rate then dropped to several hundred until last week’s sudden halt, refugee agencies said. |
| As of early October, 1.15 million Syrians had registered with the United Nations refugee agency in Lebanon, it said, and Turkey had absorbed 1.03 million as of late September. | As of early October, 1.15 million Syrians had registered with the United Nations refugee agency in Lebanon, it said, and Turkey had absorbed 1.03 million as of late September. |
| Jordan, with a population of 6.5 million, has drawn waves of refugees in the past, but the crisis in Syria is particularly severe and is straining the country’s limited resources. The Syrian civil war, now in its fourth year, has triggered an influx of over 600,000 refugees in Jordan. | Jordan, with a population of 6.5 million, has drawn waves of refugees in the past, but the crisis in Syria is particularly severe and is straining the country’s limited resources. The Syrian civil war, now in its fourth year, has triggered an influx of over 600,000 refugees in Jordan. |
| Jordan’s official news agency, Petra, reported last month that the authorities had arrested several supporters of the Islamic State who were accused of recruiting for the group and using the Internet to promote extremist views. | Jordan’s official news agency, Petra, reported last month that the authorities had arrested several supporters of the Islamic State who were accused of recruiting for the group and using the Internet to promote extremist views. |
| Lawmakers recently approved several amendments to Jordan’s antiterrorism laws, including one that criminalizes any attempt to join terrorist organizations or recruit on their behalf. | Lawmakers recently approved several amendments to Jordan’s antiterrorism laws, including one that criminalizes any attempt to join terrorist organizations or recruit on their behalf. |
| According to a report released in mid-September by the United Nations refugee agency, 64 percent of refugees arriving in Jordan cited fear of the Islamic State as the primary reason they fled. | |
| In the sprawling border refugee camp in Zaatari, which shelters around 80,000 Syrians, one refugee, Mohamad al-Ghazawi, said aid workers and Syrians in the camp who spoke to relatives this week said refugees were not being allowed to enter. “We heard the severely injured are barely being allowed to cross inside,” he said. | In the sprawling border refugee camp in Zaatari, which shelters around 80,000 Syrians, one refugee, Mohamad al-Ghazawi, said aid workers and Syrians in the camp who spoke to relatives this week said refugees were not being allowed to enter. “We heard the severely injured are barely being allowed to cross inside,” he said. |
| Jordan is still accepting Iraqi refugees who obtain visas. The highest monthly tally of new registrations since 2007 came in August, during the peak of sectarian violence in Iraq. | |
| Although Jordan is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the United Nations refugee agency and the government signed an agreement in 1998 specifying that asylum seekers may stay in Jordan pending a determination of their refugee status. | Although Jordan is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the United Nations refugee agency and the government signed an agreement in 1998 specifying that asylum seekers may stay in Jordan pending a determination of their refugee status. |