Syrian authorities reopened the Nassib border crossing with Jordan , after both countries affirmed their commitment to overcoming anything that might disrupt bilateral relations, following deadly strikes launched by Amman that killed seven Syrians, including children.
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the Jordanian Air Force launched airstrikes in southern Syria, which Amman said killed more than 20 members of the Islamic State group, in response to an attack on a church in Karak, southern Jordan, that killed nine people and wounded 25 others, according to Jordanian authorities, who said the three attackers, all Jordanians, were linked to the targeted groups in Syria.
The strikes, which sparked widespread anger in Syria after the killing of five members of one family in a remote village in Daraa province, constituted one of the biggest crises in relations between the two countries since the new Syrian authorities came to power following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2014, after they had exchanged official visits repeatedly.
Following a phone call made by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani, in which he affirmed, according to a joint statement, “Jordan’s full respect for Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security,” and expressed “deep regret and sorrow over the loss of innocent civilian lives,” Damascus announced the reopening of the Nassib crossing, known as the Jaber crossing on the Jordanian side, starting.
The Syrian General Authority for Ports and Customs announced on Wednesday that passenger traffic through the Nassib border crossing with Jordan has returned to normal.
Syrian authorities closed the main border crossing with Jordan on Tuesday following Jordanian airstrikes that, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, targeted a village in the Sweida province and three villages in the Daraa province, killing seven people, including a woman and three children, according to Damascus.
Damascus condemned the Jordanian raids, considering them “an unacceptable violation and intrusion into Syrian airspace without any prior coordination,” stressing, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, that “this field action is completely unacceptable because it represents a clear violation of the principles of good neighborliness and Syrian national sovereignty.”
However, Jordan confirmed on Tuesday that it had coordinated the strikes with Damascus.
Jordanian Minister of Government Communication and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Al-Momani said on Tuesday that the bombing operations “targeted ISIS positions, after Jordan ran out of patience with the movements of these terrorist organizations and their targeting of national security.”
During the phone call, Safadi and Shibani agreed, according to the joint statement, to “form a joint security committee to investigate all the details and facts of the recent operations and follow up on their repercussions, and to develop field and intelligence coordination mechanisms to deal with terrorist threats.”
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