On a border that has long carried both trade and fear between Jordan and Syria, the Nassib crossing is set to open again, a small return to ordinary life after a week that turned violent. The reopening follows Jordanian air strikes on suspected Islamic State hideouts in southern Syria, a response to a deadly church shooting in Karak that the militant group claimed, and which left at least seven dead, five of them from a single family. Two neighbours now search for a shared way to act against a common threat, though they still disagree over what each knew beforehand.
Syria and Jordan Reopen Border as Probe Into Deadly Strikes Begins
Jordanian strikes in Deraa and Suwayda killed at least seven people, including five members of the same family, three of them children.
Five of the dead were from the same family; three were children.
Mark
Why does the border reopening matter so much here?
Mimi
Nassib is Jordan's only crossing with Syria, so closing it, even briefly, cuts off all passenger and commercial traffic. Reopening it signals both sides want to contain the damage.
Mark
What set this off?
Mimi
A shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak on Friday, which ISIL claimed. Jordan struck suspected ISIL hideouts in southern Syria on Monday.
Luke
And the toll from those strikes?
Mimi
At least seven dead in Deraa and Suwayda, five from one family, three of them children. Syria's emergency ministry said its teams responded at four sites.
Luke
Worth noting that "at least seven" is a floor, not a final count. And the report doesn't say who identified the family or how.
Mark
Jordan said the strikes were coordinated with Damascus. Is that settled?
Mimi
No. Damascus denied it.
Luke
Right, and nothing in the reporting resolves that. Two governments gave opposite accounts, and the joint statement doesn't say which is right.
Mark
What about Jordan's claim of confirmed threats?
Luke
That's Safadi's description of the intelligence. The source gives no independent confirmation that the targets were ISIL sites.
Mimi
What we do have is the committee, which will examine the strikes' aftermath and build intelligence coordination.
Luke
Whether its findings ever become public is unknown.
Der Puls
- Jordanian strikes on southern Syria killed at least seven people, including three children, and the shock is still settling over Deraa and Suwayda.
- A church shooting in Karak set off the strikes, and a claim of responsibility by ISIL keeps the threat feeling close and unresolved.
- Amman says the strikes rested on field intelligence and were coordinated with Damascus, while Syria flatly denies that coordination ever happened.
- A joint security committee and a reopened border crossing signal an effort to contain the fallout, though the findings and the coordination dispute remain open.
On a border that has long carried both trade and fear between Jordan and Syria, the Nassib crossing is set to open again, a small return to ordinary life after a week that turned violent. The reopening follows Jordanian air strikes on suspected Islamic State hideouts in southern Syria, a response to a deadly church shooting in Karak that the militant group claimed, and which left at least seven dead, five of them from a single family. Two neighbours now search for a shared way to act against a common threat, though they still disagree over what each knew beforehand.
The Nassib crossing, the only land link between Jordan and Syria, is set to reopen on Wednesday morning, with passenger and commercial traffic returning after a brief closure. The closure followed Jordanian airstrikes on Monday, which Amman said targeted ISIL hideouts in southern Syria in response to a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak the previous Friday. The Islamic State group claimed that attack.
The strikes hit Deraa and Suwayda and killed at least seven people. Five of the dead were from one family, and three of them were children. Syria's emergency management ministry said its teams responded to attacks at four sites, and the human weight of those losses now sits at the center of the diplomacy.
The two foreign ministers spoke by phone and agreed to form a security committee. Its first task is to examine the aftermath of the strikes. Jordan's Ayman Safadi told his Syrian counterpart that the attacks were based on field intelligence and aimed at confirmed threats, and he expressed deep regret for the civilian deaths.
One question remains unsettled. Jordan says the strikes were coordinated with Damascus, and Syria rejects that claim. The committee is also meant to build closer intelligence coordination against terrorist threats, so that future action in southern Syria is not taken by one side alone. Whether its findings are made public, and whether the two governments agree on what Damascus knew, will show whether this cooperation holds.
Nassib, the only border crossing between Jordan and Syria, is set to reopen on Wednesday morning, with regular passenger and commercial traffic resuming. Syria's state news agency SANA reported the reopening. The crossing had been closed briefly after Jordanian airstrikes hit southern Syria earlier in the week.
Those strikes came on Monday. Jordan's military said they targeted ISIL, or ISIS, "hideouts" in southern Syria. It described them as a response to a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, in Jordan, on Friday. ISIL claimed responsibility for that attack.
The strikes killed at least seven people in Deraa and Suwayda. Five of the dead were members of the same family, and three of those five were children. Syria's Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said its teams responded to attacks at four sites.
The two governments have now moved to deal with the fallout together. Their foreign ministers spoke by phone, and a statement released afterward said the countries agreed to form a security committee. Its first task is to examine the aftermath of the strikes.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, that Monday's attacks rested on field intelligence. He said their aim was "neutralising confirmed threats and imminent terrorist operations targeting Jordan's security." He also expressed "deep regret" over the civilian deaths and stressed that Jordan respects Syria's sovereignty and stability.
One point remains disputed. Jordan had claimed the strikes were coordinated with the Syrian government. Damascus denied that. The joint statement did not settle the disagreement, though the committee's remit suggests both sides see a need for better communication.
Beyond investigating the strikes, the committee is meant to develop what the statement called "field and intelligence coordination in dealing with terrorist threats," with the stated goal of protecting innocent civilians. The language points to a mechanism for sharing intelligence, so that any future action against ISIL in southern Syria is not carried out by one side alone.
What to watch now is whether the committee's findings are made public, and whether the two governments reconcile their conflicting accounts of whether Damascus knew about the strikes beforehand.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Strikes aimed at neutralising confirmed threats and imminent terrorist operations targeting Jordan's security.— Ayman Safadi, Jordanian Foreign Minister
Safadi expressed deep regret over civilian deaths and stressed respect for Syria's sovereignty and stability.— Joint statement on call with Asaad al-Shaibani
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