The slice of no man’s land separating war-torn Syria from the comparative stability of Jordan has, for more than two years, been a thoroughfare for refugees. More than a million people have staggered out of Syria and over an earthen berm into Jordan, clutching toddlers, suitcases and whatever documents they could carry.
Last week, however, for the first time since this war began, they apparently stopped coming. An internal email from a leading humanitarian organisation reveals that, in the last five days of September, not a single refugee was admitted into Jordan.
The email, seen by The Times, noted that during this time about 4,000 Syrians became trapped in the no man’s land between the two countries; unwilling to return to the war they