Jordan denied entry to thousands of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees fleeing Syria

The Jordanian authorities denied entry to thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria during 2013, Human Rights Watch has alleged. Most were either Palestinian or Iraqi, single, military-age men and people without identity documents. The organisation said in its World Report 2014 that this is a clear violation of international law.

According to HRW’s World Report 2014, in late May 2013 the number of Syrian refugees arriving daily in Jordan decreased from 1,500 to 300 or less. Refugees complain that the Jordanian officials closed the borders or imposed severe restrictions on their entry.

The report pointed out that Jordan attributed the decline to the intensified fighting between the Syrian government and opposition forces which hindered the refugees’ ability to reach the border.