AMMAN: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Monday his country has exceeded its capacity to host refugees from Syria and is backing their voluntary return home.
Amman estimates that it has taken in close to 1.3 million refugees from its war-torn neighbor and says it has already spent more than $10 billion to host them.
It has repeatedly complained that hosting Syrian refugees is a burden on the country’s infrastructure and limited resources.
“The Kingdom encourages the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland. It is inevitable,” Safadi said during a meeting with UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi in Amman, according to his office.
In the statement, Safadi said Jordan had “exceeded its capacity” to host any more refugees from Syria and that the international community should shoulder its responsibilities.
In a tweet, Safadi also said that the “voluntary return of Syrians” is “an ultimate goal all must support.”
Some 650,000 Syrian refugees have registered with the United Nations in Jordan since fleeing their country’s conflict, which started with anti-government protests in 2011, although Amman gives a higher figure.
Earlier Monday King Abdullah II told Grandi that hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees is putting “increasing pressure” on Jordan’s infrastructure.
Jordan says can’t host more Syrian refugees
Jordan says can’t host more Syrian refugees
Latest US sanctions target Houthi funding networks, Treasury says
- Since 2023, the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration issued fresh sanctions on Friday further targeting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the transfer of oil products, weapons and other so-called dual-use equipment that it said helped fund the group.
The action targets 21 individuals and entities as well as one vessel, including some alleged front companies in Yemen, Oman and the UAE, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement.
“The Houthis threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
The move builds on previous Treasury action to pressure the Houthis “vast revenue generation and smuggling networks, which enable the group to sustain its capability to conduct destabilizing regional activities,” including the Red Sea attacks, the department added.
Since 2023, the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war on Gaza.
Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies, including on the Houthis in Yemen. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Daphen Psaledakis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
