Jordan may go to UN over Syria

The Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour has announced that he may go to the UN to declare the northern region of the country a “disaster zone”, following the influx of Syrian refugees. Speaking to the Jordanian House of Representative on Wednesday, Ensour said the northern cities of Irbid, Mafraq, Ajloun are now so under pressure from Syrian refugees that the area should be declared a “disaster zone.” Ensour added that the government was considering approaching the UN Security Council to request urgent assistance in hosting the rising number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. However, a number of Jordanian politicians have rejected the idea. MP Mustafa Rawashda told Arabstoday that it was inaccurate to label the northern region a disaster zone, saying “disaster areas usually apply to earthquakes and volcanic areas not to areas of humanitarian asylum.” Meanwhile, MP Hosni Shayab agrees with the PM’s decision saying the announcement relate to the failure of the state in managing the crisis after recent claims that the government is losing control of security at refugee camps. Oraib Rantawi, a political analyst and writer in Jordan, told Arabstoday that the situation is currently “catastrophic in the northern cities, putting pressure on the infrastructure. “There is a real problem with providing water for refugees and people in the north have even began digging wells for water,” he said. Rantawi said that resorting to the Security Council may become an “inevitable decision”, especially with the number of Syrian refugees crossing the border rising every day. Nearly half a million Syrians have fled across the border into Jordan over the past two years, since the Syrian conflict began.