Watchdog calls for allowing aid into sealed border area

AMMAN — Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged Jordan to allow the delivery of relief aid into the no-man's land between the Syrian and Jordanian border, where around 70,000 refugees are trapped.

An official source said on Tuesday the Jordanian border will no longer be used as a conduit to deliver aid to stranded Syrian refugees.

The relief items will be delivered from inside Syria, the source said, declining to give more details on the operation.

The decision came one month after the Kingdom allowed access of humanitarian aid for those refugees for the first time since the closure of the border and announcing the area an off-limit military zone in June.

The decision was taken after a terrorist attack in late June targeted a military post serving refugees near the border, killing seven troops and injuring 13 others.

HRW said in a statement that new satellite imagery dated August 31 "shows the dire situation" of the trapped refugees. 

 “These latest satellite images confirm that the humanitarian crisis at the [Rakban] encampment has not been resolved, and appears to be getting worse,” said Nadim Houry, the deputy Middle East director at HRW. “Jordan should immediately allow humanitarian agencies to resume life-saving aid deliveries to alleviate their suffering.”