Current:Home > NewsSyria pushes back against Jordanian strikes on drug traffickers on Syrian territory-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Syria pushes back against Jordanian strikes on drug traffickers on Syrian territory
View Date:2024-12-24 00:00:31
DAMASCUS (AP) — Syria’s foreign ministry in a statement Tuesday condemned recent presumed Jordanian airstrikes against suspected drug traffickers on Syrian territory, including one last week that killed women and children.
The foreign ministry statement, its first to address the issue, “expressed its deep regret over the strikes directed by the Jordanian Air Force,” which it said had been justified “as being directed at elements involved in drug smuggling across the border into Jordan.”
Smugglers have used Jordan as a corridor over the past years to smuggle highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria, mainly to oil-rich Arab Gulf states.
The Syrian statement said there was “no justification for such military operations,” adding that “since 2011 (Syria) has suffered from the influx of tens of thousands of terrorists and the passage of huge quantities of weapons from neighboring countries, including Jordan.”
An airstrike in the province of Sweida in southern Syria early Thursday killed at least nine people and was probably carried out by Jordan’s air force, Syrian opposition activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said nine people, including two children and at least three women, were killed in the strike.
Jordan typically does not confirm or comment on the strikes and did not comment on the Syrian foreign ministry’s statement.
Jordan helped to facilitate Syria’s return to the Arab League last year, 12 years after the league suspended Damascus because of the harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters in an uprising that quickly descended into a brutal civil war.
At the time of Syria’s readmission, the league expressed hope that its reintegration would help push it to combat drug trafficking. Jordan and the Arab Gulf countries, in particular, have been concerned about the mass production of Captagon in Syria.
The Jordanian authorities have recently cracked down on smuggling attempts, including some in which smugglers used drones to fly the drugs over the border.
veryGood! (791)
Related
- Sports are a must-have for many girls who grow up to be leaders
- 2024 SAG Awards: Carey Mulligan Reveals What She Learned From Bradley Cooper
- Conservative megadonors Koch not funding Haley anymore as she continues longshot bid
- Why do we leap day? We remind you (so you can forget for another 4 years)
- Wreck of Navy destroyer USS Edsall known as 'the dancing mouse' found 80 years after sinking
- What killed Flaco the owl? New York zoologists testing for toxins, disease as contributing factors
- Sister Wives' Meri Brown and Amos Andrews Break Up
- You Won't Believe What Bridgit Mendler, Erik von Detten and More Disney Channel Alums Are Up To Now
- Benny Blanco Reveals Selena Gomez's Rented Out Botanical Garden for Lavish Date Night
- The One Where Jennifer Aniston Owns the 2024 Sag Awards Red Carpet
Ranking
- LSU leads college football Week 11 Misery Index after College Football Playoff hopes go bust
- You Can't Miss Emma Stone's Ecstatic Reaction After Losing to Lily Gladstone at the 2024 SAG Awards
- Pretty Little Liars' Shay Mitchell Praises Pregnant Ashley Benson Amid Her Journey to Motherhood
- SAG Awards 2024 winners list: 'Oppenheimer' wins 3, including outstanding ensemble cast
- Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe
- Kodai Senga receives injection in right shoulder. What does it mean for Mets starter?
- Why AP called South Carolina for Trump: Race call explained
- The 11 most fascinating 2024 NFL draft prospects: Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy drive intrigue
Recommendation
-
When do new 'Yellowstone' episodes come out? Here's the Season 5, Part 2 episode schedule
-
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton involved in scuffle at 7-on-7 youth football tournament in Atlanta
-
Josh Hartnett Makes Rare Appearance at 2024 SAG Awards After Stepping Away From Hollywood
-
SAG Awards 2024 Winners: See the Complete List
-
One person is dead after a shooting at Tuskegee University
-
3 killed in Ohio small plane crash identified as father, son and family friend heading to Florida
-
Death toll rises to 10 after deadly fire in Spain's southern city of Valencia, authorities say
-
Draft RNC resolution would block payment of candidate's legal bills