The Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) is working on a comprehensive plan to provide relief to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees currently taking shelter in Jordan.

The authority already started distributing relief materials including food among refugees yesterday, it said in a statement yesterday.

As fighting intensifies between the Syrian military and armed rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad, the number of people who have fled their homes to Jordan and elsewhere has skyrocketed, the statement added.

SRCA’s relief operation was made possible because of the efforts of Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, SRCA president, the statement added.

The SRCA decided to carry out relief operations for Syrian refugees after Prince Faisal held talks with UNHCR officials on the prospects of distributing humanitarian supplies among Syrian refugees in neighboring countries in coordination with the UN agency.
The distribution yesterday was carried out in cooperation with Jordan Red Crescent Society.

The authority also expressed concern over the large number of refugees from Syria fleeing growing violence.

Referring to the humanitarian supplies being sent to Jordan, the statement said a large number of food parcels that include food, rice and sugar were being distributed in various governorates across the country.

A Saudi convoy with 312 tons of aid donated by Saudi businessmen was also sent to Jordan recently. The convoy consisted of 13 refrigerated trucks loaded with 312 tons of food.

"However, the big problem is the growing number of homeless Syrian refugees taking shelter in Jordan and in other countries," said the statement.

Jordan recently imposed strict procedures for accepting refugees as the number of individuals submitting asylum claims is on the rise.

Jordan’s Interior Ministry estimates that more than 125,000 Syrians are in the country.
Some cross the border directly and others enter by air via the UAE, Lebanon, or elsewhere.

Saudi Arabia is now trying to support Syrian refuges and is also working with the international community to restore peace and security in the country.

Prince Saud Al-Faisal, foreign minister, urged Gulf states recently to mobilize their resources to help Syrians “defend themselves” against the Assad regime.

Prince Saud added: "The killing and torture of civilians has continued."

An international coalition including the United States, the United Kingdom and several Arab states has pledged to send millions of dollars in aid and equipment to Syria’s opposition groups, signaling a deeper international involvement in the conflict there.

In a communique issued after a meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People group in Istanbul recently, world leaders called on the Syrian president to immediately comply with an earlier promise to abide by a United Nations-Arab League peace plan.

However, the Syrian regime is still killing its own people.

This has prompted more citizens to leave the country.

Besides Jordan, Turkey has accepted more than 33,000 Syrian refugees, including 12 generals from the Syrian army.

Most of the cities and towns in Syria are experiencing acute shortages of food, water and medicine, while temperatures are soaring on a daily basis.