UNHCR reporting officer Danita Topcagic said the past three days saw an average of 1,200 to 1,300 crossing the border, mainly because of fighting and skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.
Ms. Topcagic said refugees told UNHCR that the Free Syrian Army also was encouraging them to flee because of increased fighting in the area. Markets and shops also are often shuttered, making it difficult for people to find food; electricity and water supplies are intermittent; and hospitals in many places have shut.
She said that in mid-December a daily average of 757 Syrians had crossed Jordan’s northern frontier, while in November the average number daily was around 600.
Syria’s civil war has turned more than a half-million Syrians into refugees. Most of them have found safe haven in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
• Associated Press writer Dale Gavlak contributed to this article from Amman, Jordan.
By Elaine Donnelly
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