Riot at Syrian refugee camp in Jordan injures three

Police fire tear gas at some 300 rioters after rumors of sexual assault spark unrest

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A Jordanian official says a nighttime riot at a Syrian refugee camp close to the Jordan-Syria border has left two Syrian refugees and a Jordanian policeman hurt.

Anmar Hmoud, says the rioting in Zaatari camp started late Sunday and stretched into the early hours of Monday. He says it was sparked by false rumors that Jordanian policemen had sexually harassed three female refugees.

Hmoud says about 300 angry Syrian refugees attacked a police post at the camp’s entrance, prompting policemen to fire tear gas at the crowd.

He says two Syrian refugee men suffered smoke inhalation and a Jordanian policeman was hospitalized with a broken arm.

Jordan hosts about 400,000 Syrian refugees who fled the civil war at home. The Zaatari camp alone has nearly 80,000 Syrians living there.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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