Jordan opens Syria refugee camp for 130,000 people
Jordan opened a new, sprawling tent city on Wednesday to accommodate tens of thousands more Syrian refugees who are expected to flee their country's fighting — another grim indicator for a deadly war now in its fourth year, The Associated Press reported.
The new Azraq refugee camp is built to host 130,000 people, said Brig. Gen. Waddah Lihmoud, director of Syrian refugee affairs in Jordan. It cost $63.5 million dollars to build, the U.N. said.
Once full — a process expected to take months — the camp will outstrip Zaatari, currently Jordan's largest camp. That camp is now the country's fourth largest city and the second largest refugee camp in the world. The Dadaab camp in Kenya is the largest.
The huge tent city underscores the staggering effect of Syria's refugee problem on its neighbors.
Jordan already hosts some 600,000 registered Syrian refugees, forming 10 percent of the country's population. Jordanian officials estimate the real number is closer to 1.3 million Syrians.