By Fatih Erel
GENEVA
The UN’s humanitarian envoy to Kuwait has praised Turkey for its role in building and maintaining refugee camps for people fleeing the civil war in Syria, as reports emerge of rioting and violence in other facilities.
In an interview on Tuesday with Anadolu Agency, Abdullah al-Matouq said that camps in Turkey were free of the violence which has recently rocked other locations, such as the Al-Zaatari facility in Jordan.
A young Syrian refugee succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained during Saturday's violence in Zaatari, northwest of Amman, the head of Syrian refugees' affairs in Jordan has stated.
The Jordanian security forces have claimed that 22 policemen and three refuges were injured following Saturday’s riots; one source said an investigation was underway to determine whether refugees had fired on security forces.
Al-Zaatari is the largest refugee camp for Syrians in Jordan, housing 110,000 refugees.
Al-Matouq said: "There is a need to provide better services in refugee camps and in that regard, l would like to thank the government of Turkey for providing the required infrastructure and providing all the facilities for the NGOs and international organizations that work in Turkey."
"My organization, the International Islamic Charitable Organization, has constructed 1,000 pre-fabricated houses in Kilis [eastern Turkey] and regarding Saturday's violence in Zaatari refugee camp, we do not see any similar problems in the camp in Turkey because the infrastructure at refugee camps in Turkey is available and people feel comfortable," al-Matouq told an AA correspondent in Geneva.
"l am optimistic that the humanitarian situation in Zaatari will improve in near future," al-Matouq added.
Around 1.3 million Syrians currently live in Jordan, according to official data, including 600,000 registered refugees.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
