Northern border closure to protect Jordan’s security — minister

AMMAN — Jordan has sealed off northern borders with Syria to protect its security and interests, Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat said on Thursday.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Ghunaimat, said that the UN request from Jordan to provide shelter for Syrian refugees affects those interests. 

The minister also called on the international community and the UN to bear their responsibilities towards the thousands of displaced Syrians on border areas near Jordan.

Ghunaimat called on the UN and the international community to place pressure on Syria’s warring parties to reach a political solution that ends the crisis in southern Daraa province and stops the large-scale suffering of Syrians. She also reiterated the significance of joining efforts to stop violence and killings.

Jordan will continue its humanitarian duty towards refugees and will do all that it takes to ensure the delivery of assistance to the displaced people in the border areas with Jordan, she added.

Secretary General of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) Ayman Mifleh said that the JHCO in cooperation with the concerned authorities sent on Thursday 14 aid trucks into Syria.

Mifleh was quoted by Petra as saying that a total of 141 aid trucks have been sent so far to the displaced Syrians inside their war-torn country.

Also on Thursday, a military source refuted reports circulated on social media networks claiming that Russian air strikes had caused an explosion at a factory of chemical substances in the duty free zone between Jordan and Syria.  

The military source said the news items are baseless and incorrect, noting that the fire at the sulfur factory was started by a group of displaced Syrians with the “aim of creating chaos and pushing the thousands of displaced people to head towards Jordan.”