Jordan closes main border crossing with Syria

Jordan has temporarily closed its main border crossing with Syria, citing intense clashes between the Syrian government forces and foreign-backed militants near its border. 

Jordan’s Interior Minister Hussein al-Majali said the Jaber crossing was closed late Tuesday because of the ongoing fierce fighting nearby.

 “The Jaber border post has been temporarily closed to travelers and goods,” media outlets quoted Majali as saying.   

The minister also added that the closure was a “preventive measure to safeguard the lives and security of travelers due to the fighting underway on the other side of the border.”

Sources say border traders and passengers were turned back at Jordan’s border point of Jaber and prevented from crossing.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said earlier that heavy fighting had erupted when militants launched an attack on the border crossing, known as the Nasib post on the Syrian side.

The Syrian government’s fighter jets have bombarded the militant hideouts in order to flush out the terrorists from the troubled region.

The crossing at the Jaber–Nasib border is the only functioning one between Jordan and Syria and is considered a crucial gateway for both Syrian and Lebanese merchants.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Foreign Ministry has said in a statement that it holds Jordanian authorities responsible for “obstructing the movement of trucks and passengers and any ensuing economic or social repercussions.”

Jordan has played a role in fueling turmoil in Syria by allowing the United States and its Western allies to use its soil for training anti-Damascus militants and shipping weapons into the crisis-torn state.

Some media reports have revealed that the US spy agency, CIA, has been shipping weapons into Syria via Jordan and Turkey since early 2012.

On March 10,2013,  the German weekly Der Spiegel cited sources familiar with the case that the US troops deployed to the Jordanian border are training the militants operating against the government in Damascus. 

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 215,000 people, according to reports.

New figures show that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives in Syria last year.

Over 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the crisis. More than 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced, according to the United Nations. 

JR/MKA/SS

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