Jordan will accelerate the security screening process for 20,000 Syrian refugees in Azraq camp who entered from the no-man's-land near the border earlier this year, the Jordan Times reported Monday (October 24th).
The decision, announced by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the conclusion of a three-day visit to the kingdom, will enable refugees to leave the fenced camp.
Before the closure of the north-eastern border in June, Jordan allowed around 300 Syrians to enter daily on the condition that the newcomers would be isolated in Azraq for security checks.
A fenced camp was set up in March to speed up the admission of Syrians from the border area, with the strict measures aimed to prevent "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) infiltration.
Meanwhile, UN agencies are discussing various options with the Jordanian government to allow aid to the 80,000 Syrians still stranded in the no-man's-land along the border, Grandi said.
The mechanism of delivering aid is complicated, he said, adding that one proposal entailed moving the Syrians to a different site.
"The key request of the government is that the population does not stay in that particular location. From a security point of view, it is not viable, so whatever assistance we will be able to provide, will be provided a bit further away," the UN official said.
