Hundreds of refugees fleeing violence in Syria arrived in Egypt's Port Said Tuesday aboard a Turkish cargo ship.
Ahmed Naguib Sharaf, the head of the Port Said Ports Authority, said 2,823 Syrian refugees have arrived in Port Said on 12 ships that sailed from Turkey's Iskenderun Port over the past eight months since the navigation line began making the trips in late April.
Port Said Governor Ahmed Abdallah received the 517 Syrians who arrived Tuesday and put them up at a tourist resort at the expense of the governorate until other housing arrangements can be made.
Around 100 Syrian families are living in Port Said. The Port Said Traders Coalition is providing assistance, including helping them find work and a local volunteer coalition is also organizing visits and events to help alleviate some of the suffering of the children who have witnessed the bloody conflict in their home country.
The United Nations estimates more than 60,000 have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests broke out in March 2011 and later escalated to what the international body classifies as civil war.
Edited translation from MENA
