Jordan faces budget crisis as IS war costs bite

Jordan needs to find billions of dollars for its military and security budgets if it is continue its war effort against the Islamic State, an influential member of parliament has told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

Yousef Qurnah, the head of the parliamentary financial committee, said Jordan was in urgent need of $5bn to fund its part in the war against the IS group, adding that the internal security budget would double to $5.4bn in 2015 to combat infiltration.

However, he said the budget blow-out could cost other areas of Jordan's economy, adding that public debt had spiralled close to $30bn in 2014 and cost more than $1bn a year to service.

He said Jordan needed the support of the international community to develop its economy, and tackle poverty and unemployment - two factors he said that had led to a rise in militancy and terrorism.

The Jordanian military has ramped up its action against the IS in Syria after the group last week murdered the Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh.

The Jordanian airforce commander, Mansour Saleh, said his forces had carried out 56 airstrikes over the three days to Sunday, and had been responsible for a fifth of all missions since the US-led, anti-IS alliance began bombing in Syria. The US has said a single airstrike costs up to $10m.

Qurnah added that Jordan was struggling to accommodate the 1.4m Syrian refugees within its borders, saying that public services were under immense strain.

Mamoun Abu Nawar, a retired major general in the Jordan airforce, told al-Araby that his country could not maintain the intensity of its war for very long, and criticised the slow pace of aid from allies such as the US.

"Jordan cannot single-handedly bear the financial strains of the war against IS, which it is doing on behalf of the whole world," he said, adding the country needed a reliable supply of parts and equipment to succeed.

He added that a recent donation from the UAE of a squadron of F-16s had helped, as had a decision by the US to move search and rescue aircraft from Kuwait to Jordan to improve the chances of rescuing pilots downed over Syria.

The UAE stopped its missions in Syria after the capture of Kassasbeh in December, saying the US measures to rescue downed pilots were inadequate.

This is an edited translation of the original Arabic.