Jordan hailed as regional 'pillar of stability'

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, who visited Jordan on Wednesday, hailed Jordan as a "pillar of stability" in the region and lauded its efforts as the country hosting and helping the largest number of Syrian refugees despite struggling with an economic crisis. "[Jordan's] sacrifice and generosity is something the international community should recognise and support," he said Guterres called on Jordan and other neighbours of Syria to continue their efforts to take in the refugees fleeing from the civil war, be they Syrian nationals or Palestinians who resided in Syria. The High Commissioner also supported the Jordanian government's call for significantly more humanitarian support to the displaced and needy inside Syria. "It is critical that humanitarians can reach people in need wherever they are, whoever they are and whomever they support," he stressed. UNHCR announced a week ago that the number of Syrian refugees in the region had passed the one million mark, but the High Commissioner has warned that at the current inflow rate it could hit the three million mark by the end of the year. The Jordanian government believes that hundreds of thousands of Syrians in the border governorate of Dera'a could flee to Jordan if the conflict continues at the current intensity or escalates. The UN official's visit to Jordan comes as part of his tour of countries hosting Syrian refugees. He is set to visit the Zaatari refugee camp and a border crossing which receives refugees fleeing to Jordan on a daily basis.