Jordan to keep Syria border closed: Foreign minister

By Laith al-Juneidi

AMMAN (AA) - Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi on Tuesday confirmed that his country's borders with Syria would remain closed, going on to deny the presence of Syrian refugees in the border area.

In a tweet, al-Safadi said that Jordanian policy on southern Syria -- especially as it pertains to the city of Daraa -- was aimed at “saving Syrian lives, supporting a political solution [to the conflict] and assisting displaced persons both inside and outside Syria”.

“There are no displaced people on the border; they have all remained inside Syria,” the foreign minister said.

“The UN can assist the [Syrian] people inside their country,” he added. “We will help our Syrian brothers as much as we can while maintaining our own interests and security.”

The UN on Monday expressed concern over reports of escalating violence in southwestern Syria, which has reportedly led to the displacement of some 45,000 people near the Jordanian border.

Since last week, the Syrian regime and Iran-backed militias have been conducting air and ground operations -- despite U.S. warnings -- against opposition positions east of Daraa.

Daraa currently falls within a network of “de-escalation zones” established last year as part of peace talks between Turkey, Iran and Russia held in Kazakh capital Astana.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.