(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The government on Saturday said the Jordanian army is working day and night to protect the Kingdom's borders and security.
"The Jordan Armed Forces [JAF] and other security agencies are exerting great concerted efforts to protect the security of the Kingdom," Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Samih Maaytah said, commending JAF's "civilised treatment" of Syrian refugees who cross the borders to escape the violence in their country.
The minister's statement came in the wake of a shooting incident that took place at dawn on Friday on the border with Syria.
Syrian regime forces on Friday opened fire on a group of refugees escaping to the Kingdom, injuring several, including a child who was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in Ramtha and was laid to rest on Friday.
Maaytah on Saturday reiterated the government's rejection of news reports that two Jordanians were injured in the incident, stressing that Syrian forces opened fire on the refugees crossing into the Kingdom.
But a source stationed in the border region told The Jordan Times on Friday that "minor" clashes broke out between the two sides after Syrian forces opened fire on a group of 300 refugees attempting to flee into Jordan, accidentally targeting Jordanian servicemen.
Jordanian forces returned gunfire to provide cover and allow the refugees to cross into the Kingdom. The incident sparked a fierce 15-minute battle in the border region, but no injuries were reported.
Ali Bibi, a liaison officer at the UN Refugee Agency's office in Amman, told The Jordan Times on Saturday that more than 500 Syrian refugees made it safely to the Kingdom over the past 24 hours, adding the agency is currently providing assistance to nearly 37,000 registered Syrian refugees.
"The number of refugees is still on the rise and it's posing a big challenge on the agency to secure them with infrastructure services, taking into account the shortage of resources the Kingdom is already facing," Bibi said.
He said the UNHCR calls on the international community to provide support to Jordan to cope with the ramifications of the Syrian crisis.
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