Jordan is weighing the risks and benefits of setting up a safe zone along its borders with Syria and is watching Turkey’s attempts to create a buffer or safe corridor in the north of the war-torn country, according to a source close to the Jordanian government who recently met with a senior government official. The source, who requested anonymity, told Al-Monitor that officials in Amman expressed interest in establishing a “safe zone and not a buffer zone with a depth of 60 kilometers [37 miles] into southern Syria,” but for this to happen, Jordan would need an international mandate. The source said that legal, logistical and political problems have put such plans on hold, and it is unlikely that a decision will be made unilaterally over this anytime soon.
The United States denies that it agreed with Turkey to set up a “safe zone” inside northern Syria as part of their campaign against Islamic State (IS) militants. This has added to Jordan’s reluctance. Feridun Sinirlioglu, undersecretary of Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN Turk Aug. 11 that the two countries had agreed to create an area free of IS militants that would be 98 kilometers (61 miles) long and 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide, to be patrolled by members of the opposition Free Syrian Army. It was not clear if this would be a buffer or safe zone. “The control and protection of this region cleared of [IS] will be conducted by Syrian opposition forces and the necessary air defense and support for this … will be provided by the United States and Turkey,” Sinirlioglu said. According to Reuters Turkey, he hopes the zone will be a haven for more than 1.7 million Syrians who have fled across the border into its territory.
