Syrian MP flees to Jordan

A former Syrian MP was on Thursday among a group of dozens of people that fled to Jordan, government spokesman Samih Maaytah told AFP.

The US has warned Syria over the use of chemical weapons, as fighting raged across the country.

"Nasser al-Hariri (MP for Daraa), his family and 38 other Syrians fled on Thursday night to Jordan," said the spokesman who is also Jordan's information minister.

A member of the Syrian opposition in Jordan told AFP on condition of anonymity that Hariri had been "under house arrest before managing to escape to Jordan".

Jordan is hosting more than 150,000 Syrians, most of them living in temporary residences in Ramtha, a town across the border from Daraa, or with relatives or friends.

The desert Zaatari refugee camp, 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the kingdom's northern city of Mafraq, is sheltering around 6,000 of the refugees.