Jordan says Syrian crisis threatens its national security

Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said on Sunday that the Syrian crisis was “threatening the country’s national security,” adding that Jordan would appeal to the United Nations Security Council over the impact on its economy of hosting Syrian refugees.

Jordan said it has received 450,000 Syrian refugees, including nearly a quarter of a million children.

A U.N. spokeswoman said last week that U.N. agencies expect the number to surge to around 1.2 million by December -- equivalent to about one-fifth of Jordan’s total population.

The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, which provides safe water, sanitation, vaccines and education in the Zaatari camp, said it is facing a massive funding shortfall which may force it to cut back on desperately needed services.

The agency said it has received just $12 million of the $57 million it had appealed for to fund its Jordan operations this year.

Last week Jordan opened a second camp for Syrian refugees with the funding from the United Arab Emirates.

The 13,000-acre (5,200-hectare) camp, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Amman, has 750 caravans, a hospital and a school and can take up to 5,500 people.

“It will mainly receive widows, orphans and families who do not have single men,” government spokesman for Syrian refugee affairs, Anmar Hmud, told AFP. “There are plans to expand the camp to house 30,000 people.”