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UN refugee agency says 12k Syrians stuck on Jordan border

Tuesday, 08 December 2015 6:06 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 08 December 2015 6:06 PM ]

Syrian refugee children play outside their tents at an informal camp near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan, October 23, 2015. ©AP

The United Nations refugee agency says some 12,000 Syrians have been stranded along the Jordanian border in worsening conditions, calling on Amman to allow their passage.

Melissa Fleming, the spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), announced the figure during a Tuesday briefing in Geneva, Switzerland.

Fleming said 11,000 and 1,000 refugees were stuck, respectively, in Rukban and Hadalat crossing points, both located in northeastern Jordan.

Elderly people, children, women, and others who are vulnerable and need help are among the stranded Syrians facing “deteriorating humanitarian conditions,” the UN official said.

Fleming urged the Jordanian government to prioritize entry for the most vulnerable of the Syrian refugees.

“The health situation is deteriorating, with increasing signs of diarrhea, vomiting and acute malnutrition among children. If refugees are not admitted to Jordan and substantial assistance not provided, the lives of refugees will be at risk in the coming winter months,” she said.

Fleming also warned that the number of refugees on the Syrian border with Jordan has increased a substantial amount, from 4,000 to 12,000, over the past few weeks.

Syrian refugee children play in the Zaatari refugee camp, near the city of Mafraq, Jordan, November 29, 2015. ©Reuters

According to latest reports, Jordan hosts about 1.4 million Syrians, of whom 647,000 are registered with the UNHCR.

The crisis in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has so far claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s population within or out of its borders.

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