Ammon News - The Guardian- Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees are enduring blizzards, biting winds and freezing rain as the worst winter storm for decades sweeps across the Middle East.

Aid agencies are warning of extreme hardship, particularly among families living in flimsy tents.

The United Nations has said it is extremely concerned about the plight of refugees. Aid agencies are trying to distribute thermal blankets, heaters, clothing and tarpaulin sheeting but are facing logistical difficulties in some areas due to severe weather conditions.

"For the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Lebanon, as well as those in neighbouring countries and the displaced in Syria, a storm like this creates immense additional hardship and suffering," said Amin Awad of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in Lebanon.

The storm, named Alexa, has brought snow, hail, driving rain and icy winds to the region, with the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon particularly badly hit. According to Oxfam, around two-thirds of the 1 million Syrian refugees in the country have settled in the Bekaa Valley and north Lebanon, which are especially prone to harsh winter conditions.

Many refugees in Lebanon are living in unofficial makeshift camps. The Lebanese government has refused to establish refugee camps for fear that they will become permanent homes for Syrians who have fled the civil war.

Temperatures have also plummeted in Jordan and Turkey this week. Many refugees have only the thin summer clothes in which they fled Syria, and are now sleeping on thin mats on the freezing ground.

"The severe snowstorm this week in Lebanon and Jordan is just the beginning of winter misery for the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees struggling to combat the bitterly cold and wet conditions," said Nigel Timmins of Oxfam.

"Many families are facing winter in makeshift tents and unfinished buildings, unable to afford to buy fuel to run heating stoves, extra clothing or blankets. Flimsy tents are prone to flooding and are likely to collapse under the weight of snow."

The charity is warning that overcrowding exacerbated by cold conditions could help spread respiratory illnesses among refugee families.

The worst of the storm has bypassed Camp Za'atari in northern Jordan, although the area was hit by heavy rain and wind, toppling at least 10 tents on Thursday, leaving residents vulnerable to freezing temperatures.

"It was very cold, windy and muddy and all I was able to think of is how to protect my wife and four children," Ali Shatri, a 36-year-old refugee told Reuters. He said aid workers quickly evacuated him and other families whose tents were blown down to other secure areas in the camp.

Killian Kleinschmidt, the camp's manager, told the Guardian: "The electricity supply is a bit iffy because so many people are switching on electrical heaters. We know where the weak spots are, and we are doing drainage work and making contingency arrangements." Winter clothing, blankets and gas heaters were being distributed."

About 3,000 families out of the camp's total population of 82,000 were still living in tents, he added. About 700 new refugees were currently arriving each night, and some who had left Za'atari to live in Jordanian villages and towns were returning as conditions at the camp improved, he said.

The UN warned that the first cross-border airlift of humanitarian supplies from Iraq to north-east Syria could be hit by storm Alexa. Twelve planes were due to take off this week. Agencies are also reporting that the distribution of emergency cold weather supplies has been hampered by snow blocking roads in some areas.

According to UNHCR, there are 2.3 million Syrian refugees around the region. Some are beginning their third winter in temporary homes, although the numbers fleeing Syria have sharply accelerated over the past year.

The severe winter deluge also affected Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with more than 30 people injured in car crashes and as poorly built homes collapsed in the icy rain.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Syria's main western-backed rebel group criticised a US-British decision on Wednesday to suspend non-lethal aid to opposition fighters in northern Syria.

The decision came after Islamic militants seized warehouses containing US military gear that was intended for the western-backed main rebel faction.

"We believe it was a hasty decision and we are in contact with our British and American friends … to reconsider this decision," rebel spokesman, Loay al-Mikdad, told Reuters.

He said the suspension of aid will have negative effects on the Syrian people and not only the Free Syrian Army (FSA). "The Syrian people need every assistance and we believe that the American and British friends will review this decision," he said.

US and British officials said on Wednesday that humanitarian aid such as food and blankets would not be affected by the suspension.

The warehouses taken over by opposition factions belonged to the FSA's supreme military council, led by General Salim Idris, a secular-minded, western-backed moderate.