Jordan opens first camp for Syrian refugees

The first camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan formally opened on Sunday in the northern town of Zaatari, 80 kilometers northeast of Amman. Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi said during a ceremony to open the camp that Jordan’s arms and doors have been open to any anyone seeking refuge in the country and had provided the refugees with all needed support. The minister said that an initial group of 500 Syrian refugees will today move to the camp which will accommodate in its first stage 9,000 refugees, Jordan news agency (PETRA) reported. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said in a statement that his country receives between 1,500 to 2,000 Syrian refugees daily, estimating that Jordan now hosts nearly 142,000 refugees who fled Syria due to the increasing hostilities there. He expressed his country’s readiness to receive more refugees and secure a decent living for them United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR Representative Andrew Harper thanked Jordanian institutions, namely the Jordan Armed Forces and charity organizations which came to the aid of the refugees.