Nearly 3,000 Syrians fled to Jordan this week, charity says

A prominent Jordanian charity said on Thursday that nearly 3,000 Syrians have fled to the neighboring kingdom in the past three days.
"In the past three days, 2,450 Syrians sought refuge in Jordan while another 500 entered illegally," Zayed Hammad, head of the Muslim Ketab and Sunna Society, told AFP.
Hammad did not elaborate about the new wave of refugees, but said that his charity, which depends on donations, has provided 3.5 million dollars in cash and in-kind aid for refugees in the kingdom since last year.
"We have registered 20,000 Syrian refugees so far," he said.
Officials were unavailable for comment.
Jordan has said that around 80,000 Syrians have fled to the kingdom since anti-regime unrest erupted in Syria in March last year, with most staying with relatives in the northern border city of Ramtha and in nearby Mafraq.

A 30-dunum (30,000 square meter) camp to host refugees is currently under construction in Mafraq.
The UNHCR puts the number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan at between 5,000 and 8,000. The kingdom has also accepted around 5,000 Syrian students in state schools.
The year-long violence in Syria has killed more than 9,000 people, according to the United Nations.

-AFP/NOW Lebanon