Bishop: First Syrian refugees arrive in Rhode Island

By The Associated Press

news@abc6.com 

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) _ Religious leaders say Rhode Island is welcoming members of Syrian family who are believed to be the first refugees from the war-torn country to arrive in the state.

Episcopal Bishop of Rhode Island W. Nicholas Knisely says the family flew into T.F. Green Airport in Warwick on Thursday night and were greeted by a group of religious leaders and Syrian-Americans.

The refugees’ names and where they will be living were not immediately disclosed. The Rhode Island State Council of Churches said the family includes a couple and their three children, ages 6, 7 and 8.

More than a quarter-million people have been killed in Syria’s five-year civil war, which has created Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

(C) The Associated Press 2016