618,000 Syrian refugees registered in Jordan — Hmoud

AMMAN — Registered Syrian refugees in Jordan now number 618,000, Brig. Gen. Wadah Hmoud, director of the Syrian Refugees Affairs Directorate, said on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting of the Higher Steering Committee on the Syrian Refugees, chaired by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Hmoud said that in addition to the refugees, some 750,000 Syrians are residing in the Kingdom.

The majority of refugees are staying outside camps, he added, noting that around 121,882 Syrian students are enrolled at the Kingdom’s schools, 89,000 of whom are at public schools.

Over the past year, some 837,000 Syrians were treated at local hospitals at a cost of JD37 million, Hmoud said at the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Rashid, chairman of the board of trustees of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, and a number of ministers.

In a related development, an army source said on Thursday that border guards received 569 Syrian refugees over the past 48 hours including women, children and the elderly.