The buildup of Syrian refugees on Jordan’s northeastern border requires urgent global attention to avert a humanitarian disaster as the Jordanian government seeks to prevent the infiltration of terrorists, said an official of the United Nations World Food Program.
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Tuesday’s attack, the first of its kind since the conflict in Syria began in 2011, saw a lorry full of explosives driven at high speed over the border from Syria and blown up beside a Jordanian military post.
Fourteen soldiers were also wounded in the attack, a security official said, adding that the death toll might rise.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II condemned the attack and threatened to “strike with an iron fist whoever assaults or attempts to harm it or its borders”.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Momani said “Islamic State” (IS) extremists had been mixing with refugees at the two camps, creating a major security threat.
Tens of thousands are camped on the Syrian side, relying on daily deliveries from Jordan to survive.
Jordan now hosts more than 650,000 Syrian refugees registered by the UN Refugee Agency.
The Jordanian government has also announced that it will not build any new refugee camps and will not expand any existing camps.
“We stand together with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the common struggle against terrorism and violent extremism”. Humanitarian workers estimate that if the situation continues, there will be 100,000 Syrians stranded at the berm by the end of the year.
“So you have real issues of extremism in this country, some of these individuals leave Jordan and go to Syria or Iraq and Join Islamic State”.
A Ruqban resident said he saw a pickup truck crashing through a Jordanian border gate. Yahia said the Jordanian camps either have adequate space for more arrivals or could be expanded to accommodate them.
Jordan is a staunch ally of the United States and is taking part in the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State in Syria, where the jihadist group still controls large areas of territory including much of the east. Jordan has taken in over 650,000 Syrian refugees, and is allowing 200 to 300 in per day.
UNHCR representative Andrew Harper said he was not aware of any Syrian asylum-seekers being hurt in Tuesday’s attack.
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Jordanian security installations were targeted twice before in the past seven months. In other words, the attack was not from overseas.
