Syria: Airstrikes near Jordanian border May 9

Event

Syrian rebels reported that fighter jets from the Syrian regime conducted four airstrikes on rebel positions near the border with Jordan in the early hours of Tuesday, May 9. The strikes targeted the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Southern Front, a western-backed rebel group fighting in the Syrian Desert on the Jordanian border, notably one of its outposts near the Ruqban refugee camp. These attacks came a few hours after Syria's foreign minister threatened to send troops across the border to Jordan.

Context

Syria is enmeshed in a complex civil war that started between the Assad government and opposition forces in March 2011. Today, the conflict in Syria involves many parties, including the Syrian government, the Jordanian government, the Iranian government, the Turkish government, the Russian government, a United States-led coalition, and numerous armed groups on the ground (including the Islamic State) with competing goals.

Such cross-border activities are not common, and this is particularly notable as the first time that strikes have been conducted near this part of the border. The last security incident in this area was a car bomb attack that killed four people near the Ruqban refugee camp in January 2017. The Jordanian authorities have expressed concerns about the growing instability in the kingdom's border areas, especially those near Iraq and Syria. Jordan closed the border near the Ruqban camp in June 2016, halting aid deliveries, after a terrorist attack claimed by Islamic State (IS) killed seven Jordanian soldiers.

The FSA is supported by operations rooms in Amman and benefits from strong Western and Arab support in the fight against IS. The FSA and Syrian government forces are fighting each other in many areas across Syria, including on the border with Jordan.

Advice

Individuals in Jordan are strongly advised to adhere to security instructions issued by local authorities. Some Foreign governments have advised their nationals against all travel near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. Due to extremely poor security conditions, Western governments generally advise against all travel to Syria, with some countries banning all travel to the country.