More than 70,000 Syrian refugees who are stranded in dire conditions on the Jordanian border could be about to receive long-awaited aid after an announcement by Jordan’s government of plans to use a crane to deliver supplies.

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Jordan first shut its border to refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war in mid-2014. About 75,000 Syrians have since been trapped in no-man’s land, unable to either enter Jordan or return to Syria.

Aid groups managed to deliver food and supplies by lorry until June this year when Jordan sealed the border to all traffic after a car bomb in the area. In the four months since, refugees at the “berm” – as the border fortifications are known – have been virtually without humanitarian aid.

Without formal shelter, refugees had dug holes in the ground to escape a Russian bombing raid. At the height of summer, when temperatures reached 50C (122F), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said those at the berm were experiencing “some of the most extreme conditions on Earth”.

But there was a glimmer of hope on Monday when the Jordanian government said aid could be delivered without opening the border – by using a crane to regularly lift supplies over the berm, or sandy ridge.

Aid groups in Jordan told the Guardian nothing had been confirmed. But Mohammed Momani, a government spokesman, said in interviews with the Jordan Times and Associated Press (AP) that a plan had been set in motion.

“The new mechanism will be delivering aid on the berm through cranes, and the aid will be given to community leaders of groups of Syrians so they can distribute it accordingly,” he told AP. Aid was previously delivered using a crane once in August.

If the plan goes ahead, the aid could alleviate a dire humanitarian situation on the border, where Amnesty International says disease is rife owing to the absence of medical care since the start of summer.

Several people have died of hepatitis, and satellite footage obtained by Amnesty last month showed refugees had begun to create makeshift burial grounds in which to inter the corpses. “Many people have died,” one refugee at the border told the charity. “The humanitarian situation is very bad, the situation of children in particular is very bad. We have drinking water but hardly any food or milk … [it] is awful.”

Amnesty cautiously welcomed Monday’s announcement, but warned that cranes were no substitute for allowing aid workers direct access to the 75,000 refugees.

Khairunissa Dhala, a refugee researcher for Amnesty, said: “News that humanitarian assistance will be resumed to tens of thousands of refugees stranded at the berm comes as a welcome relief. However, Amnesty International is extremely concerned about reports that aid will be delivered by crane rather than through a response that would allow for organisations to have unfettered humanitarian access to refugees at the berm who continue to live in inhumane conditions.



“Furthermore, this short-term solution must not distract the Jordanian government and the international community from finding a sustainable longer–term solution for the stranded refugees. Jordan, must allow refugees at the berm into the country while carrying out necessary checks in line with international standards, to allay security concerns. World leaders must also relieve the pressure on host countries like Jordan by assuming their fair share of responsibility and significantly increasing resettlement places offered.”

The situation highlights the worsening prospects for displaced Syrians hoping to reach safety outside their home country. In the early years of the Syrian war, refugees could easily flee to neighbouring countries, with about 2.5 million escaping to Turkey, 1.2 million to Lebanon and more than 650,000 to Jordan. Syrian refugees now make up about a fifth of Lebanon’s population and a 10th of Jordan’s.



But as the war dragged on, Middle Eastern countries gradually shut their borders, particularly once it became clear that western countries would not share the responsibility by resettling significant numbers in Europe and North America.

Syrian refugees must now choose between living under regime rule; fleeing to refugee camps in rebel territory, which have at times been overrun by jihadis or bombed by the government; or risk being shot on the Turkish border as they smuggle themselves across.