New camp opens for Syrian refugees in Jordan

As the war in Syria shows no sign of abating, space in existing refugee camps has become scarce.

A year in the making, Azrak camp welcomed its first residents this week – Syrians escaping their war-torn homeland.

The desert camp, located about 100km from Jordan’s capital Amman, has room to house up to 100,000 people, alleviating pressure on Za’atri camp which has already met a similar capacity.

UNHCR estimates that 2.5 million Syrians have fled their country since the war began in 2011, while approximately 6.5 million remain displaced within Syria.