Hague visits Syrian refugees

  • 12 years ago
Syrian children play in a refugee camp.

Near the border in Jordan, this centre welcomes and relocates those who have escaped the violence in Syria, with more arriving each day.

During his visit on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the violence President Bashar al-Assad's forces were employing to quell the uprising.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE SAYING:

"The sheer barbarity and criminality of the Assad regime is fully on display when you listen to the people here."

A truce brokered by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan has been repeatedly violated since its inception.

Hague said the U.N. is negotiating a resolution that would give teeth to the Annan peace plan, putting penalties in place for non-compliance.

Many Syrians are angry that foreign countries have not done more to help.

SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SYRIAN REFUGEE SAYING:

"They killed our sons, they killed our women, assaulted us. God is great, help us, Arabs. Arabs and foreigners killed us. No one came to our rescue."

Jordan says nearly 130,000 Syrians have fled across its border since the crisis started 17 months ago.

Lindsey Parietti, Reuters

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