Jordan, Russia to discuss civilian displacements amid anti-terror fight in south Syria
Jordan and Russia are to hold talks over the situation in the southern Syrian province of Dara’a, where a Moscow-backed army operation against terrorists has driven thousands of civilians towards the Jordanian border.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said he would meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow later on Tuesday for talks on the issue.
Safadi said the meeting would produce more understandings and “take us more steps forward to contain this crisis and prevent more destruction.”
Two weeks ago, Syria began the operation to recapture Dara’a, which together with the provinces of Quneitra and Suwaida, forms the Arab country’s southern tip. During the push, the government first tries to clinch surrender deals with the terrorists before staging anti-terror operations.
Russia, which backs the operations, also held talks with the terrorists in Dara’a last week. They, however, rejected what they called a “humiliating” surrender deal.
The United Nations refugee agency’s Jordanian chapter, meanwhile, said 270,000 people have been forced to flee amid the fighting so far.
Safadi said Amman had open channels with both Damascus and Moscow, and that the talks would focus on reaching a ceasefire and halting civilian displacements.
Jordan has shut its borders, saying it cannot take in more refugees.
“Jordan already has 1.3 million Syrians. Our country has reached its maximum capacity. Jordan has been shouldering this responsibility, and I must say, we’ve been doing so alone,” Safadi said.
However, Karl Schembri, from the Norwegian Refugee Council, said aid agencies were ready to help if Jordan agreed to let the refugees in.
“We know that they are lacking the most basics; water, food, even shelter,” Schembri told Al Jazeera from the Jordanian capital Amman.
“They are stranded there and they are facing some of the most dire conditions – it’s summer now, it’s getting hotter and they’ve been fleeing from extreme escalation of fighting in their areas. They are tired, exhausted and we still can’t reach them,” he added.
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