Nearly 300,000 displaced by Syria quake - state media

BEIRUT - More than 298,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to this week's deadly earthquake, Syrian state media reported, in an apparent reference to the parts of Syria under government control, not those held by other factions.

State news agency SANA quoted Hussein Makhlouf, minister of local administration and environment, as saying the state had also opened 180 shelters for displaced people.