Pope Francis appeals for peace in Syria

Pope Francis is in Jordan on the first leg of his three-day trip to the Middle East.

After celebrating mass at a sports stadium in Amman, he visited the site of Jesus’s baptism, Bethany, where he met Christian Iraqi and Syrian refugees.

Although the Vatican had said his pilgrimage is strictly religious, it is proving difficult for Francis to avoid politics.

Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports from Amman.