Hosting Syrian refugees cost Jordan $10bn - ministry

Jordan said on Tuesday it estimates at more than $10 billion the cost of hosting thousands of refugees displaced from neighboring Syria since the civil war broke out there in 2011, AFP reports. The UN says Jordan currently houses some 650,000 Syrian refugees, while the government puts the figure at around 1.3 million people. The Foreign Ministry said that “more than $10.3 billion” had been spent on accommodating the refugees. Jordan, which shares a 370km border with Syria, estimates that it will need almost $1.7 billion to cover the refugees this year.