ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan, Oct 18, 2012 (AFP)
ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan, Oct 18, 2012 (AFP)
Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Thursday toured a field hospital treating Syrian refugees in northern Jordan — the first Arab head of state to visit the desert compound.
On the second day of his trip to Jordan, where he held talks with King Abdullah II, Mohammed VI inspected a Moroccan field hospital in the Zaatari camp, which houses around 36,000 Syrian refugees.
“Long live Morocco,” chanted a group of refugees as they greeted Mohammed VI, who shook hands with some of them before ending his 20-minute tour amid tight security.
After his 20-vehicle motorcade left the camp, around 100 Syrians gathered, chanting: “The people want to arm the Free Syrian Army, regime forces are traitors.”
Earlier in Amman, Mohammed VI and King Abdullah II discussed the Syrian crisis, a palace statement said.
“King Abdullah warned against the dangerous repercussions for the entire region,” it added.
He called on “the international community to keep helping Jordan to provide services for more than 200,000 Syrian refugees in the kingdom.”
Jordan has said it was planning to set up a new refugee camp west of the capital Amman if the influx of Syrians fleeing to the kingdom keeps growing.
Hundreds of people enter the kingdom daily from Syria, crossing illegally to flee a conflict that has killed more than 33,000 people over the past 19 months.
