Saudi Syria refugees
Migrants rest at the road side of a freeway north of Rodby as a large group of migrants, mainly from Syria, walk on the highway towards the north September 7, 2015. Many migrants, mainly from Syria and Iraq, have arrived in Denmark over the last few days. Saudi Arabia has defended its response to the Syrian refugee crisis, after being criticized, along with other Gulf states, for not doing more for displaced people in the region. Picture taken September 7, 2015. Reuters/Jens Norgaard

After attracting criticism for its apparent lack of concern for people displaced by the conflict in Syria, Saudi Arabia Saturday said that it had accepted more than 2.5 million refugees since the conflict began. The oil-rich nation also claimed that it has given permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of Syrians since 2011.

Rich Gulf nations have been condemned for not welcoming Syrian refugees, who are fleeing the civil war and the Islamic State group (ISIS) onslaught in the country and making perilous journeys to Europe via sea. While numerous countries outside of Europe are taking in thousands of refugees, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have been blamed for remaining silent on the issue.

However, according to the Saudi Press Agency, an unnamed official at the Saudi foreign ministry said that nearly 2.5 million Syrians have been given shelter in the Islamic kingdom. The official stressed that Syrians are not treated as refugees and are not placed in camps "to ensure their dignity and safety."

Al Jazeera quoted the foreign ministry official as saying: "[it was] important to clarify these efforts with facts and numbers in response to media reports, which included false and misleading accusations about the kingdom.

"Saudi Arabia was keen to not deal with them as refugees, or to put them in refugee camps, to preserve their dignity and safety, and gave them complete freedom of movement. [We] gave [shelter to] whoever chose to stay in the kingdom, which are in the hundreds of thousands, proper residency ... with all the rights that are included like free health care and engaging in the workforce and education."

The Saudi Press Agency added that the OPEC heavyweight has provided around $700m to aid agencies in Syria, and has set up clinics at refugee camps. Moreover, it said Syrians given residency in Saudi Arabia have access to work, schools and free medical care.

The official also said that humanitarian aid has been provided to those countries who have been accepting Syrian refugees.

RELATED STORIES
United arab emirates