AMMAN, Jordan — Amman is blocking approximately 27,000 Syrian refugees from leaving a Jordanian desert area near the country’s northeast border, an international aid official citing Jordanian border guards told Al-Monitor. The number of Syrian refugees in Ruqban and Hadalat is significantly higher than the number the Associated Press reported earlier.

One European diplomat called the conditions at the border “horrific” and “brutal” in a conversation with Al-Monitor. At least 10 Syrian refugees have died, including two infants during birth, said another European official based in Jordan.

Each of the officials Al-Monitor spoke with for this article requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of this situation and concern for upsetting the Jordanian government. One individual feared that Amman would not renew his visa, while an international aid official said that Jordan could delay humanitarian assistance to refugees for their publicly speaking to the media about their plight in the "berm" — the name used by humanitarian organizations for this area near the Syrian-Jordanian border.

In a Feb. 2 interview with the BBC, King Abdullah II said there were “elements” of the Islamic State among the refugees, and that some had previously resided in Raqqa, the IS capital. Abdullah explained that security forces must conduct vigorous inspections to protect the Hashemite Kingdom’s security and so keep the refugees in this isolated location. He said that any Western nation is welcome to absorb these refugees, but no country has volunteered to do so.