Jordan: More than 45,000 Syrian refugees have chosen to return home

Syrian elderly refugees walk at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border, in Mafraq, Jordan, Monday, April 29, 2013. Jordan's economy is ailing and some lawmakers have expressed concerns over the rising numbers of Syrian refugees in the resource-poor kingdom. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon) (The Associated Press)

Syrian refugees carry their belongings as they wait their turn to get on a military bus, enroute to the border to cross into Syria again, at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border, in Mafraq, Jordan, Monday, April 29, 2013. The United Nations says there roughly about 1,000 Syrian refugees who leave Zaatari camp each week. Some return home to Syria while others try to find alternative housing in Jordanian communities. Those who return to Syria are accompanied by Jordanian military and security police. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon) (The Associated Press)

Jordan says that more 45,000 refugees in its territory who fled Syria's civil war have chosen to return since last August.

Col. Zaher Abu Shihab, who directs Jordan's largest refugee camp at Zaatari near the two countries' border, says 45,865 Syrian refugees have so far been voluntarily repatriated.

Some refugees have complained of the harsh environment at the camp. Sporadic protests have demanded improvements.

About 300 to 400 Syria refugees ask daily to go back to Syria, Abu Shihab told the official Petra news agency late Monday.

Jordan hosts more than half a million displaced Syrians, with about one-fifth inside Zaatari.

Abu Shihab said the camp intends to improve conditions, installing more trailers to replace tents to house the refugees.