Syrian refugees in Jordan expected to hit 700,000 in 2013

Jordan announced on Tuesday that the number of Syrian refugees in the country is expected to exceed 700, 000 in 2013, the state-run Petra news agency reported. In a statement released Tuesday, Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan said that there are more than 300,000 Syrian refugees in the country at present. "As many as 250,000 Syrian refugees are living inside Jordanian cities," Hassan said. Hassan noted that his country started talks with donors to meet the growing needs of the Syrians, reiterating that the increasing number of Syrians coming to Jordan put pressure on the sectors of health, education, energy and others. "Hosting the current amount of Syrian refugees in Jordan is expected to cost the country around 489 million U.S. dollars this year," he said. Syria has been witnessing unrest since March 2012, with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.