Thousands of refugees have been stranded on the Syrian-Jordanian border after Amman blocked access to a makeshift refugee camp following last week's deadly attack at the frontier, AFP reported Wednesday (June 29th).
For months, some 70,000 refugees fleeing Syria's war have gathered at al-Rukban border crossing in Jordan's north-east, dependent on food and water from international aid agencies.
But since last week's attack, access has been cut off.
Al-Rukban is a key crossing into Jordan for refugees fleeing Syria.
Jordan insists newcomers must be screened before entering the kingdom to ensure they are genuine refugees and not members of the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) or al-Qaeda.
Last Tuesday's attack saw the suicide bomber set off from the camp in an explosives-laden vehicle and blow it up at a military outpost, killing seven soldiers, the Jordanian army said.
Jordan responded by declaring the remote desert regions "closed military zones", with no access to civilians, including aid workers.
ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack and authorities had no choice but to seal off the area, government spokesman Mohammed Momani said.
"National security must take precedence over any other consideration," Momani said, adding that "the kingdom will co-operate as much as it can" in aiding the refugees.
