Syria Says Jordanian Airstrikes ‘Unjustified’

January 23, 2024 Hour: 10:06 am

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria condemned the “unjustified” airstrikes by Jordan on its territory that left at least ten people dead in the Al-Suwayda province.

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“Syria expresses its deep regret for the airstrikes carried out by the Jordanian Air Force against several villages and areas within Syrian territory,” said the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Previously, on Dec. 18, 2023, Jordanian forces bombed an area of Al-Suwayda, leaving a dozen dead, including women and children, according to data from the activist network AlSuwayda24 and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

This is the first time that Syrian authorities have publicly commented on Jordanian bombing campaigns on their territory, operations that Jordan usually does not acknowledge authorship of and are aimed at combating drug trafficking.

Crowds gather and search for survivors around a home flattened by an air attack in southern Syria, which killed at least 9 people.

Syrian media reported that the strike was carried out by Jordan which has been targeting drug smuggling operations between countries. pic.twitter.com/0WPVUHuoeu

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)
January 18, 2024

“There is no justification for such military operations,” Syrian diplomacy said, asserting that its country is is avoiding causing “tensions or affecting the ongoing restoration of the fraternal relationship between the two countries.”

Since the outbreak of the war in 2011, Syria “has suffered the influx of tens of thousands of terrorists and the passage of huge amounts of weapons from neighboring countries, including Jordan,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry recalled.

Jordan is a significant destination and transit point for a type of amphetamine called “captagon,” which is produced in large quantities in Syria.

In mid-2023, Syria and Jordan inaugurated a joint committee for cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking after Syria was readmitted to the Arab League with the commitment to redouble efforts to tackle drug smuggling.