Jordan Prepares for Syrian Spillover
The visit by US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to Jordan on April 23 underscored the urgency of the Syrian crisis for the Hashemite Kingdom, writes Osama Al Sharif from Amman.
Jordan is bracing itself for a spillover effect from the 2-year-old Syrian crisis that could have devastating consequences on the Hashemite Kingdom. There is a sense of apprehension in the capital Amman, especially after beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued what many interpreted as a brazen warning to Jordan. Assad accused Jordan of allowing thousands of fighters to cross the border into Syria, where armed rebels have been battling the regular army in an attempt to bring an end to the Baathist regime in Damascus.
Assad said that the crisis in Syria will not be limited to his country, adding that “the fire will not stop at our borders; the world knows Jordan is just as exposed as Syria.” It was not the first time that the Syrian president had pointed the finger at Amman for aiding the rebels. Jordanian Salafist groups have often said that hundreds of their followers were fighting against the regime in Syria. Few are known to have been killed there. The Western media had talked about weapon shipments, bought in Croatia by Gulf states, being sent across the Jordan borders to Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in the south of Syria.
Officially, Jordan insists that it is against meddling in internal Syrian affairs and King Abdullah has often said that a political solution to the crisis was needed. But the spillover effect had begun in the early days of the Syrian uprising. Jordan hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees in two camps in the north and east of the country. Officials and UN agencies give different figures on the number of refugees — roughly around 500,000 in and outside the camps — but both believe the number could easily reach a million if not more by the end of the year. Jordan has issued appeals for international aid and assistance to help it cope with the burden of hosting Syrian refugees.
On his visit last month to Jordan, President Barack Obama promised to provide $200 million in additional aid to Jordan to help it deal with the refugee problem. The challenge of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees comes as Jordan tries to maneuver itself out of difficult financial troubles that have fueled social and political protests.
