No delay in aid to Rukban dwellers — Momani

AMMAN — Jordan on Sunday reiterated that it would maintain its humanitarian role in protecting and passing food and drug aid to Rukban camp for displaced Syrians, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani brushed off "ungrounded" claims about Jordan delaying aid, describing the claims as "totally false".

Momani said that such "fallacious" news aim to push Jordan to allow the entry of Syrian refugees currently at the camp, which Jordan has rejected, except for certain cases for humane reasons. 

He stressed that Jordan remains in the lead of humanitarian action, bearing the responsibility of delivering aid to the camp that is located inside Syria, which means that the international organisations are also able to deliver the aid from within the Syrian land.

The minister, who is also the government spokesperson, said that Jordan has established a service centre and guarded the aid delivery process and human workers.

He said “a country like Jordan has hosted 1.5 million Syrian refugees over the past seven years, something that has not been done by large countries or even continents”.

“Jordan would never delay the delivery of aid to the refugees across the Jordanian borders; however, it refuses any measure that would jeopardise its security and stability,” said the minister.

He stressed that the Kingdom continuously coordinates with the international organisations that provide aid and services to the refugees.

The minister warned against reducing the support to refugees as it would add more burdens on the host countries.