Jordan to keep border closed to displaced

amman — Jordan’s army said on Tuesday the kingdom’s border with Syria would remain closed, even as tens of thousands of Syrians flee a government offensive towards the frontier.

The commander of the kingdom’s northern military region, General Khaled Al Massaid, said that authorities feared the presence of “infiltrators among the displaced”.

Around 95,000 Syrians have arrived in the border region “as a result of the latest military operations”, he said.

Syrian government troops backed by Russian airpower launched an offensive on June 19 to recapture the country’s southern Daraa region along the border with Jordan.

“The borders are closed and the army is being very cautious with the displaced, fearing the presence of... infiltrators with weapons and disguised as women,” said the general.

The United Nations said Monday the number of Syrians displaced by the onslaught had already exceeded 270,000, with 70,000 people seeking shelter along the border.

Massaid said 86 trucks had crossed the frontier over the past three days to deliver food and drinking water to the displaced.

Earlier on Tuesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Liz Throssel urged Jordan to open its border to the “thousands of refugees stranded without adequate shelter” —