Syrian refugee children die in Jordan fire

AMMAN - Agence France-Presse

Syrian refugee children play at Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, February 18, 2014. REUTERS Photo

A fire caused by a candle tore through a Syrian refugee caravan in a town north of Jordan, killing two children, a civil defence department official said on Sunday

"The two Syrian brothers, aged two and five, died late last night after their caravan caught fire in Zaatari town in the Mafraq governorate," he told AFP.

"The fire swept through the caravan. The children died after sustaining fourth-degree burns," the official said, adding that "a candle sparked the fire".
 
 The town hosts the seven-square-kilometre (2.8-square-mile) Zaatari Syria refugee camp, home to around 100,000 people.
 
The official said the incident took place outside the camp.

In December, two Syrian children and their father died when a gas cylinder exploded in their tent at Zaatari.