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| Picture belonging to the same article: bu Saleh and his family survey their new surroundings in Azraq refugee camp |
Azraq,
which formally opened today, will be run by the Jordanian authorities
with the support of UNHCR and its humanitarian partners. The camp was
opened to relieve pressure on the Za'atri camp, some 50 miles to the
north-west. With around 100,000 residents, Za'atri is one of the world's
largest refugee camps and is running out of space.
There
are currently nearly 5,000 shelters in Azraq, capable of housing up to
25,000 refugees. Their zinc and steel construction is designed to better
cope with the high winds and extremes of temperature in Jordan's
eastern desert compared with the tents and caravans found in Za'atri.
