Jordan’s decision to close its borders with Syria and Iraq in the wake of a suicide attack against a border post on June 14 in the Ruqban border area with Syria was likely driven by economic pressures in addition to security concerns. Seven security personnel were killed and 15 were injured when a vehicle broke through a sand barrier and exploded in a military post, a humanitarian aid delivery point for refugees. According to a Jordanian army statement, the vehicle originated from inside the refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border. It took the Islamic State almost two weeks to claim responsibility for the attack. 

This was the first major attack against a Jordanian border post since the eruption of the Syrian conflict in 2011. Jordan was criticized last year for not allowing thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing atrocities in northern and eastern Syria to cross into the kingdom. At that time, the government said that it was unable to vet the refugees who came from IS-controlled territory.

The refugees, now estimated to number 70,000, gathered in a makeshift camp on the Syrian side of the border. Jordan, under international pressure, has allowed humanitarian agencies to provide them with food and water under army supervision.

Jordan has expressed frustration that donor countries were not delivering on promises of aid to help the government meet its humanitarian obligations toward more than 600,000 registered Syrian refugees settled in three camps inside Jordan. In total, there are about 1.3 million Syrians in Jordan today, making up roughly 20% of the population. In a February 2016 report, the World Bank said Jordan’s estimates show that each refugee costs the Jordanian government $3,750 per year. “The influx of more than 630,000 Syrian refugees is thus estimated to have cost Jordan over $2.5 billion a year,” the report read.