Some 153,000 Syrians left Jordan since border reopening — ministry

AMMAN — Some 153,000 Syrians, including 33,000 who are registerd as refugees with the UNHCR, have left the Kingdom to Syria since the Jaber-Nasib border crossing was reopened in mid-October of last year, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement from the ministry’s Syrian Refugees Affairs Directorate, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom's commitment to the principle of voluntary return of Syrian refugees and taking the necessary measures to facilitate their departure should they choose it.

The statement also underscored the Kingdom's commitment to adhering to the related international treaties and conventions in dealing with Syrian refugees, as well as continuing with the provision of basic services and needs, referring to past humanitarian and operational decisions to organise their entry and residence in the Kingdom.

A recent UNHCR survey showed that 75.2 per cent of Syrian refugees in regional countries expressed their wish of voluntary repatriation.

Jordan and its northern neighbour reopened the Jaber-Nasib border crossing on October 15, 2018, after passenger and cargo traffic was halted for more than three years as a result of the escalating violence in the Syrian town of Nasib, just across the border station, some 80km north of Amman.