01/25/13: The New York Times
reports Syrians are fleeing into Jordan in record numbers to escape escalating violence and destruction that is making it increasingly difficult for civilians to survive, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday. More than 4,000 Syrians arrived at a camp in Zaatari in northern Jordan on Thursday and another 2,000 people overnight, the UNHCR said. The influx, consisting mainly of families led by women, brought to more than 30,000 the number of Syrians reaching Zaatari this month, close to double the number who arrived in December. The refugee agency reported it is also working double shifts to try to register Syrians who are living elsewhere in Jordan and expects to have 50,000 on its books by the end of February but it noted that Jordanian authorities say 300,000 Syrians have now entered the country. The number of Syrian refugees in the region is approaching 700,000, the refugee agency said, with 221,000 registered as refugees in Lebanon, 156,000 in Turkey and 76,000 in Iraq.