Jordan opened a new refugee camp on Wednesday as part of its continued provision of shelter to thousands of Syrians fleeing violence in their country.

The Azraq camp, located in the desert 100 kilometres east of the capital, Amman, will be run by Jordanian authorities supported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its humanitarian partners.

It has been erected to relieve pressure on the Za’atri camp situated about 80 kilometres to the north-west which is housing 100,000 people and is considered one of the world’s largest refugee camps.

UNHCR says up to 25,000 refugees can be housed in the nearly 5,000 shelters made of zinc and steel to better cope with the high winds and extreme temperature in Jordan’s eastern desert.

To find out more about the new camp Basma Baghall spoke with Ali Bibi, UNHCR spokesperson in Jordan on the line from Amman.

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