Jordan's Azraq Syrian refugee camp stands largely empty
Scalding temperatures, a lack of electricity and soaring food prices have created harsh conditions in the desert camp. Alisa Reznick | 01 Jun 2015 09:30 GMT | Humanitarian crises , Middle East , Refugees , Jordan , Syria Along a 15km stretch of rocky desert in northern Jordan, in what used to be a camp for displaced Iraqis and Kuwaitis during the first Gulf War, rows of white metal shelters now make up the Azraq camp for Syrian refugees. Azraq opened in April 2014 with the capacity to house up to 130,000 refugees. Back then, the Jordanian government and the United Nations said it would likely become one of the world's most populous refugee camps - b ut one year on, it is nearly empty, with a population of around 18,500. Residents say scalding summer temperatures, a lack of electricity and soaring food prices have created harsh conditions inside the desert camp. Despite major funding rollbacks by international aid agencies, most of Jordan's...