JORDAN: Hundreds of Syrians fleeing the violence in their homeland are transferred to Jordan's first refugee camp

Record ID: 281189

  • Title: JORDAN: Hundreds of Syrians fleeing the violence in their homeland are transferred to Jordan's first refugee camp
  • Date: 29th July 2012
  • Summary: FAMILIES IN BUS SIDE OF BUS SHOWING REFUGEES GIRLS AT WINDOW PASSENGERS IN BUS BOY FLASHING VICTORY SIGNS
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jordan
  • Country: Jordan
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA90UVWI7OETK6SYDAFRF6HFDLA
  • Story Text: Hundreds of Syrian refugees were transferred to Jordan's first refugee camp near the border town of Mafraq on Monday (July 30) as number of asylum seekers rose, alongside the violence in Syria.
    The camp at Mafraq is set to be one among many along the 86 kilometre border between Jordan and Syria and will be managed by the United Nation's refugee agency. Officials say it will be funded by western donors.
    Jordan said on Sunday it was hosting a total of 142,000 Syrian refugees who arrived over the past 26 months.
    Andrew Harper, UNHCR representative to Jordan, said the refugees arriving at Mafraq had come from the Jordanian border town of Ramtha, a common entry point for those fleeing south from Syria.

    "We have got over 400 to 500 people arriving tonight from Ramtha -- that has gone rather well given the refugees movement. We got six buses by the IOM (International Organization for Migration), again the situation we are doing with the women and children so we have to be very careful to make sure that everything will be looked and they are protected," he said.
    Some other dozens of refugees in Ramtha had refused to go to the new camp at Mafraq, saying they would rather return to Syria than stay in the desert.

    "When we have 1400 to 2000 people arriving every night we gotta do what we can and people make a decision that this maybe is a desert, but it is better than to be in Syria at the moment,'" Harper said.
    President Bashar al-Assad's forces have pounded Syria's second city of Aleppo in a move to push out rebel forces there, after a battle for control of the capital, Damascus.
    U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said 200,000 people had fled the fighting in and around Aleppo in the last two days, and the violence across Syria made it hard for humanitarian agencies to reach them.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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