Syria Refugees in Jordan Stone U.N. Envoy's Convoy
A group of Syrian refugees threw stones at U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's convoy on Tuesday as he left the Zaatari camp in Jordan where he pledged help despite the "worsening" conflict.
"Unfortunately, the situation in Syria is not likely to improve," Brahimi said during a brief visit to the camp in northern Jordan close to the Syrian border.
"It is worsening. It is heading towards more deterioration," he said. "I am trying my best to help the Syrian refugees get out of this crisis."
A small crowd of angry Syrian refugees pelted his motorcade with stones as he left.
"Brahimi out! Brahimi out!" they chanted.
A security official told AFP that around 200 refugees took part in the demonstration.
"They said they were angry because he met Syrian President Bashar Assad and tried to give him a chance to kill more people, according to them," the official said.
The envoy, who arrived in Jordan from Turkey, where he also visited refugees, met Assad for the first time on Saturday, warning after the talks that the worsening conflict in Syria posed a threat to the region and the whole world.
U.N. figures show that 85,197 refugees are registered in Jordan, with a further 35,961 awaiting processing.
Jordanian officials say there are almost 30,000 refugees in Zaatari alone. They say in all there are more than 200,000 Syrian refugees in the kingdom.
Source: Agence France Presse
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