A Syrian refugee died following clashes between residents of a Syrian refugee camp and Jordanian police, the police said on Sunday.

"A Syrian refugee was shot in the back amidst riots that broke out Saturday at the camp," said Waddah Hmoud, director of department for the Affairs of Syrian Refugees Camps in Jordan.

Hmoud said the clashes began after several Syrian refugees tried to "illegally escape" from the Zaatari refugee camp, the largest camp for Syrian refugees, while other refugees were trying to "illegally enter" it.

The authorities and refugees traded blame for who started the clashes.

"After police prevented the refugees from illegally leaving the camp, about 5,000 Syrian refugees attacked the police forces at the camp and hurled stones at them, injuring about 29 policemen," Hmoud said.

But media reports said residents of the camp blamed the police for provoking the clashes when a security officer reportedly injured a child with his car.

Hmoud said police forces did not use weapons against the refugees but shot tear gas to disperse the crowd, adding that Syrian refugees were reportedly burning tents and caravans. The Jordanian police arrested ten Syrian refugees under suspicion of inciting riots.

Jordan is home to about 600,000 Syrian refugees, about 120,000 of whom live in the Zaatari camp where entrances and exits are policed and monitored by Jordan's security forces.

The incident exacerbated an already tense situation in the camp where refugees and security forces have clashed numerous times since the conflict in Syria drove hundreds of thousands to flee from the violence.