Jordan: Syria refugee influx surges nearly tenfold

The number of Syrian refugees crossing into Jordan jumped nearly tenfold last week to an average 900 people per day, its highest level in months, AP quoted Jordanian officials as saying Monday. At the same time, the number of Syrians returning home has also surged, climbing to 600 per day, said Col. Zaher Abu-Shehab, who oversees refugee camps for the Jordanian government. Syrian families often move back and forth across the border multiple times as fighting ebbs and flows. Many find conditions in desert refugee camps in Jordan to be only marginally better than their battle-scarred homes. Refugee arrivals were high early this year but dwindled to an average of 100 per day in May and thereafter, Abu-Shehab told The Associated Press. He said up to date, there are 127,604 Syrian refugees living in Jordanian refugee camps, while hundreds of thousands more live in local communities. Ali Bibi, a liaison officer with the U.N. refugee agency, said the increased number of Syrian refugee arrival was due to the "security situation in southern areas bordering Jordan." Jordan is the second largest host of Syrian refugees after Turkey.