Al-Safadi did not confirm, during a press conference with his Dutch counterpart in Amman, nor deny the implementation of the airstrike by Jordan.
He only said, “When we take action to protect our national security and address any threat to it, we will announce it at the appropriate time.”
He added, “Regarding the issue of drugs, it is a great threat to the Kingdom, the region and the world in light of the escalation of drug trafficking operations.”
The Jordanian Foreign Minister said that it had previously been agreed with the Syrian government to form a political-security team to deal with this danger (drugs), indicating that work is continuing to set up this team to do so. face and reduce the danger of drugs.
What happened?
Two sources reported that an airstrike targeted two locations in southern Syria, the first in As-Suwayda and the second in Deraa.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported earlier on Monday that suspected Jordanian warplanes had targeted a site in the village of Al-Sha’ab, located in the eastern countryside of As-Suwayda, on the Syrian-Jordanian border.
He added that the most prominent drug trafficker, Marai al-Ramathan, was at the target site and was responsible for smuggling drugs to Jordan from the area.
He said at the beginning that there was no confirmed information so far about his fate and that of his family, but he later said that it had been confirmed that Al-Ramathan had been killed.
He considered Marai Al-Ramathan to be Jordan’s most important drug trafficker and smuggler.
Sham FM radio station reported that another strike took place in Daraa governorate, affecting a building, according to the Associated Press.
Amman meeting
The rare raid of this type inside Syria follows a statement issued earlier this month in Amman following a meeting attended by the foreign ministers of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which stipulated “strengthening cooperation between Syria and neighboring countries and countries affected by drug trafficking and smuggling across the Syrian border”.
The statement said that Syria will “cooperate with Jordan and Iraq to form two separate joint political and security task forces within a month to identify sources of drug production and smuggling.” in Syria, as well as the parties that organize, manage and carry out the smuggling operations”. across the borders with Jordan and Iraq, and take the necessary measures to put an end to the smuggling operations. »
drug addiction
And with increasing attempts to smuggle drugs from Syria, which has been experiencing a civil war since 2011, Amman announced in 2022 that the rules of engagement had been changed to prevent the flow of drugs across the Syrian border.
Jordan says it faces a war on drugs on its 375 kilometer border with Syria.
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