« Home | UN investigator Brammertz in Damascus » | Iraq's new Prime Minister - an ally of Syria » | Siniora tells Bush: Israel is occupying our Shebaa... » | Has the Lebanese family feud spilled into Damascus? » | Human Rights Watch points at divisions in Syrian g... » | May Chidiac: I want high heels » | Mohammad Al-Maghout dies » | Is Syria becoming more or less repressive? » | Italy and Syria - friends again? » | UN refuses to disarm Hizbollah » 

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 

Syria opens its borders to Palestinian refugees from Iraq

Syria says it will allow 181 refugees who have been stranded at the Iraq-Jordan border.

Human Rights Watch made an urgent appeal to the Jordanian government when the Palestinians became trapped between the checkpoints over a month ago. The Jordanian border was open, but when the border guards realised Palestinians and not Iraqis were coming across, they shut the gate. The Iraqi border guards wouldn't let them back in, and they've been trapped in no-man's-land ever since.

The charity was not even asking for the Palestinians to be allowed to stay in Jordan - just to be allowed transit through Jordan to setttle in a third country.

"Jordan is slamming the door in the face of a small, but desperate group of people, who have seen their relatives murdered in Baghdad,” said Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch. “Jordan should not treat Iraqi Palestinians fleeing persecution more harshly than other Iraqis fleeing violence, who have generally been allowed to enter Jordan.”

The aid workers looking after them have described the desert conditions they are living in as extremely harsh. It is remeniscent of the situation during the first days of the war in 2003. Jordan refused to let Iraqi refugees in, but they did allow the Red Cross to open refugee camps just inside their borders. When the refugees flooded in to the camps, they became trapped - not allowed out of the camps into Jordan, and not allowed back in to Iraq.

As the most recent batch of Palestinian refugees approached the border, they were turned away by the racist Jordanian soldiers. They tried to return, but they were shot at by the Iraqis.

Apparently only Iraqis are allowed in to the promised land of Jordan.

I am so glad to see you appreciate the traitor nature of the Jordanian goverment they banned few palestenians from entering Jordan then they claimed that Syria and Hamas are smugeling weapons into Jordan ,i wonder how long the Jordanians will allow their goverment and king to be agents of the attack against Arab nationalism.and it,s represenative SYRIA.

ask yourselves who is the killer of the palestinians of iraq.
enough business on the back of the palestinian cause.

Post a Comment

About me

  • Written by sasa
  • From Damascus, Syria
  • From Damascus to London via Beirut. Based in and out of the central Damascene hamlet of Saroujah. News and feelings from the streets every day. I'm talking rubbish? Leave a comment. Welcome to the information democracy. See below for info about this site.
My profile

Syria News Wire discussion

Syria News Wire - the most comprehensive source of Syrian news on the web

  • The Syria News Wire now provides news for Cafe-Syria. To find out how to get exclusive Syrian news for your site, click here.

Get Syria News Wire EMAIL UPDATES

  • the important stuff: you can cancel any time, your email address wont be used for anything except Syria News Wire updates - this is an ad-free site
  • Enter your email address below to subscribe to The Syria News Wire...