Syrian exodus worsening says UNHCR
- 11 years ago
The Syrian exodus continues.
On Monday this camp in Zarqa in northern Jordan saw 3,000 new arrivals in a single night.
They all need food, water and shelter. Some need urgent medical attention.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 95 YEAR OLD SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM DAARA, HAMDE AL-SAFADI, SAYING:
"I never wanted to leave, but soldiers came and burnt our houses. They attacked us also from the air."
Activists say there has been a increase in air attacks on civilians areas and rebel forces over the last few weeks.
All this puts added strain on the UN.
It says the exodus could increase and that the problem is now long term.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ANDREW HARPER, UNHCR'S REPRESENTATIVE TO JORDAN:
"We've got the capacity, we've got the space, we've certainly got the willingness from a very generous government, generous people. But we need to put the money into the health care, into the education side, into the sheltering, into the food and water, because providing support for over 300,000 people takes a lot of resources. And we could be looking at 500,000 in a month or two. We could be looking at 700,000. So we need that money now, so we're better prepared."
The UN says more than 700,000 Syrians have fled their homeland since the uprising began.
On Monday this camp in Zarqa in northern Jordan saw 3,000 new arrivals in a single night.
They all need food, water and shelter. Some need urgent medical attention.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 95 YEAR OLD SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM DAARA, HAMDE AL-SAFADI, SAYING:
"I never wanted to leave, but soldiers came and burnt our houses. They attacked us also from the air."
Activists say there has been a increase in air attacks on civilians areas and rebel forces over the last few weeks.
All this puts added strain on the UN.
It says the exodus could increase and that the problem is now long term.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ANDREW HARPER, UNHCR'S REPRESENTATIVE TO JORDAN:
"We've got the capacity, we've got the space, we've certainly got the willingness from a very generous government, generous people. But we need to put the money into the health care, into the education side, into the sheltering, into the food and water, because providing support for over 300,000 people takes a lot of resources. And we could be looking at 500,000 in a month or two. We could be looking at 700,000. So we need that money now, so we're better prepared."
The UN says more than 700,000 Syrians have fled their homeland since the uprising began.