UN to aid Syrian children in Jordan

2012-04-03 21:40

Amman - The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) granted Jordan on Tuesday $1.6m to help the cash-strapped country provide schooling for thousands of Syrian refugee children, the planning ministry said.

"Unicef's grant will assist the government in coping with the burden of hosting around 5 500 Syrian school children," it said in a statement.

The statement further quoted planning minister, Jaafar Hassan, as saying that "public schools are already facing considerable pressure".

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said this week that more than 90 000 Syrians have sought refuge in the neighbouring kingdom since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in mid-March last year.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, puts the number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan at between 5 000 and 8 000.

A deadly crackdown on anti-Assad protesters in Syria has left more than 9 000 people dead since the uprising began, according to the UN.

Unicef said in February that at least 400 children had been killed in the violence.

- AFP