No Westerners Crossing Jordan Frontier

AMMAN, Jordan — An immigration official at the border crossing between Jordan and Iraq told reporters Friday that no American or other Westerner had passed the frontier into Jordan for more than 24 hours, an apparent confirmation that Iraq has closed down exits for Westerners.

Witnesses at the frontier said that a bus carrying an unspecified number of Americans was turned back by Iraqi officials overnight. On Friday, only foreigners of Arab origin were permitted to leave Iraq and cross into Jordan. Some of them had made the journey all the way from Kuwait and offered a few details of Iraq’s invasion of that oil-rich Persian Gulf state.

Two jeeps and a bus sent from the U.S. Embassy in Amman kept vigil at the border post. Five officials accompanying the vehicles declined to speak to reporters.

“No Westerners have come through since noon yesterday (Thursday),” said Abdul Rashid, the chief immigration officer on the Jordanian side of the border. “Today, only Arabs have come through.”

Among the Arabs were groups that traveled by road from Kuwait after being trapped by last week’s Iraqi takeover. Members of one family reported being confined to their homes for two days as sporadic firing echoed through the city. Tanks roamed the streets and there was some looting, they said.

Another refugee, a Lebanese, said Western embassies were in contact with many of their own citizens, “but my embassy did nothing for us. So, we just got into a car and left.”

The Jordanian border crossing is at Rusaeiwed, which lies along a two-lane road that is the sole overland link between the two countries across a broad expanse of desert. Drivers must watch out for tumbleweed and herds of camels as they travel the road. Three immigration shacks stand on the Jordanian side, one of them decorated curiously inside with a mural depicting a London park replete with tulips.

Traffic from Jordan into Iraq was fairly heavy Friday, with canvas-covered trucks streaming along the narrow highway. One shipment of new Toyota cars was seen crossing the border into Iraq, an indication that Jordan had not yet complied with the U.N. Security Council’s ban on trade with Iraq.

While about 300 Arabs were traveling out of Iraq into Jordan on Friday, some Iraqis and other Arabs were going the other way, bound for Baghdad.

The returnees were full of patriotic rhetoric. “The whole country is one army,” said an Iraqi who crossed into his country together with his son.

“We are not afraid of the United States,” declared Jazam Razak. “There are no problems--we can be friends.”

Ahmed Ali, 40, a Jordanian who said he owned a supermarket in Baghdad, proclaimed that Jordan and Iraq will stand together as allies. “We are one people,” he told reporters.