British PM visits camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan

ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan - Agence France-Presse

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L) walks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh (C) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to Jordan Andrew Harper during his visit to Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, November 7, 2012. REUTERS Photo

British Prime Minister David Cameron today toured a desert refugee camp for Syrians in northern Jordan, walking down a dusty road between the tents before visiting a UN-run school.
 
"Right here in Jordan I am hearing appalling stories about what has happened inside Syria so one of the first things I want to talk to Barack about is how we must do more to try and solve this crisis," he said in an official statement released in London.
 
His comments came in a message of congratulations to US President Barack Obama on his re-election.
 
Dressed casually in black trousers, a grey shirt and a sporting a Remembrance poppy, Cameron took time to speak to some of the more than 36,000 Syrians housed in tents and caravans in the Zaatari refugee camp near the Syria border.
 
The British premier arrived in Jordan on Tuesday night on the last leg of Middle East visit that also took him to the United Arab Emirates and to Saudi Arabia.
 
On arriving at the camp early morning, Cameron headed to offices of the United Nations, which runs the camp, before touring the facility.
 
Crowds of excited kids played football but did not seem to know who the visitor was.
 
"Is he the king?" one of them asked.
 
Inside the school, a group of children sang to Cameron in Arabic. The prime minister left the camp after visiting the school and was later to hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah.
 
The visit to the camp comes after Cameron said on Tuesday he would support granting President Bashar al-Assad a safe passage out of Syria to end the nation's bloodshed.
 
Jordan says it is hosting more than 200,000 Syrian refugees, who have fled violence ravaging their homeland since a popular uprising erupted more than 19 months ago.