Syrians Fleeing War Are Left Stranded in Desert as Jordan Shuts Its Doors

Around 1,000 Syrians fleeing conflict are stranded in remote desert areas with only limited access to food, water, and medical services after Jordanian authorities locked down one of the last remaining entry points open to refugees attempting to enter the country, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

According to a briefing released by the NGO on Wednesday, as many as 2,500 people were living in tents at the border in March after the Jordanian authorities "severely restricted" entry via informal border crossings in the northeast of the county. Some were later allowed to cross, but aid agencies say as many as 1,000 remain stuck in the border zone. Satellite images have shown a sprawl of at least 243 tent shelters in the area.

With all crossings in Jordan's northwest closed to refugees as of mid-2013, the northeastern route was one of the last remaining lifelines to safety for Syrians attempting to flee fierce fighting. For many of those stranded, returning home means another perilous journey across a large swath of land that is either contested or under the control of various militant groups.

HRW acknowledged Jordan had "gone to great lengths to meet the needs of the Syrian refugees," allowing them entry at all its informal border crossings until mid-2013, but called on the country to let the stranded people enter.

Jordan has effectively closed the northeastern border on at least one previous occasion. Between July and October 2014 around 4,000 Syrians were reportedly camped out in the desert after being prevented from crossing the border.

Related: 'We're Working, Waiting, Expecting the Worst': Syrians Are Escaping Jordan's Refugee Camps for Black Market Labor

Speaking to HRW, one Syrian man, Maher, described how the group of refugees in which he was travelling, including women and children, came under fire near a Syrian regime checkpoint as they approached the border. "Every time we moved away from the highway the shooting would increase. We continued in spite of the exhaustion that overcame us," he said.

Maher eventually reached the border but returned to his hometown after 10 days spent blocked from entering Jordan.

Others who made it across said they endured lengthy wait in dire circumstances. An aid worker cited in the HRW report said that one Syrian woman he interviewed at Azraq refugee camp in Jordan had been stuck at the northeastern border for between 20 and 35 days before being allowed in, and some of the people waiting with her were sick and "appeared to be dying."

Even those eventually able to enter Jordan were not all allowed to stay. Several aid workers, speaking to HRW on the condition of anonymity, said that of the 900 Syrians permitted to enter Jordan in mid-October only 344 arrived at the registration center, "indicating that the rest had most likely been forcibly returned to Syria."

The United Nations refugee body UNHCR has said the journey out of Syria is becoming increasingly "tough" for those seeking to leave via Jordan's northeastern border, with armed groups often demanding bribes and people smugglers charging around $100 per head — a hefty sum for those fleeing — for safe passage across the desert.

Related: 'We Don't Have Any Hope to Go Back': Syrian Refugees' Lives Turn Permanent in Zaatari Camp

At least 3.2 million people have fled Syria since the outbreak of war in 2011 and an estimated further 6.5 million are thought to have been internally displaced.

Around 600,000 of those that have left the country are now in Jordan, equivalent to around 10 percent of the Hashemite Kingdom's population. Refugees are not given work permits in the country, forcing them to carve out a living in the black market economy, or depend on handouts from international NGOs, and last December Jordan announced that it would no longer provide free medical care for refugees.

Speaking at a conference on the conflict in Kuwait in March, Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah Ensor said the number of refugees exceeded the Kingdom's capacity to respond.

The cost of the influx to the country's economy is estimated by the authorities to be around $4 billion per year. With the loss of trade inflicting further damage, Jordan's national public debt rose from 56 percent to 85 percent between 2009 and 2015.

Human Rights Watch has called on the Jordanian authorities to continue to support those fleeing fighting, but also for a "step-up" in support to the country from the international community.

"Each Syrian stuck in the desert is a testament to the failure of the badly needed international refugee response," Nadim Houry, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director of the NGO said. "But leaving desperate people in a desert border zone is not the answer."

The UNHCR office coordinating the refugee response in Jordan has only raised around 17 percent of its $1 billion budget goal for 2015.

Follow Harriet Salem on Twitter: @HarrietSalem

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