Middle East News
73,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan, says minister
Feb 23, 2012, 15:23 GMT
Amman - About 73,000 Syrians have crossed the border into Jordan since the Syrian uprising began in March, Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Rakan Majali said Thursday.
It is the first time the Jordanian government has confirmed that large numbers of Syrians are entering the country since the eruption of the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
However, the official Petra news agency quoted Majali as saying that only 2,000 Syrian refugees had approached the Jordanian government for help.
The Amman bureau of the UN High Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says it is currently helping about 3,500 Syrians.
Majali said the government was cooperating with UNHCR as well as with local and foreign charities to meet the needs of the refugees.
'The government, in coordination with the UNHCR, are mulling the construction of a refugee camp for Syrians near the border,' he added.
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