Israel Matzav

Jordan captures Syrian assassins

Among the 125,000 refugees who have entered Jordan from Syria are several assassins who have been arrested by the Jordanian government. The assassins were targeting opponents of Bashar al-Assad.

Jordan says that local intelligence officials detained Assad's agents, thereby preventing terror attacks against Syrian refugees and assassinations of soldiers and officers that defected from Assad's army.

The Jordanians accused Syria of also planning to assassinate local officials in an effort to destabilize the Hashemite kingdom as punishment for hosting Assad's foes.

...

The arrests of Assad's agents at refugee tents along the border with Syria and elsewhere prompted Jordanian officials to introduce stricter rules for taking in Syrian refugees.

Thus far, more than 125,000 Syrian refugees were reportedly taken in by Jordan. According to the new regulations issued by security officials, would-be-refugees must report to Jordan's embassy in Damascus and present relevant documents before coming in.

And I'm sure that the fear of being overrun by refugees from Syria had little or nothing to do with this change in rules. /sarc

Meanwhile, Saudi newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Thursday that dozens of Assad supporters and Syrian intelligence agents were nabbed in Jordan in possession of smuggled arms and were returned to Damascus.

Returned to Damascus? Why? Something is missing here.

There's actually a bit more to the 'screening' than that. Here are some more details.

Alarmed by escalating violence in Syria, Jordanian border authorities have placed restrictions on Syrian refugees arriving through its airports and at the border shared with the restive city of Deraa.

Official sources said screening of refugees is necessary amid worries that elements loyal to embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad who are among those entering Jordan could seek to destabilize the country.

The sources said the policy in effect is to refuse entry to male individuals altogether or to order them placed in refugee camps under police watch and with restricted mobility.

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The past few days has seen at least 500 people maneuver through territory strewn with landmines to cross into Jordan near the town of Ramtha, said officials and residents in nearby villages.

Once it spots and apprehends infiltrators, the army escorts them to a makeshift refugee camp for security screening and to provide them with food and shelter.

Jordan has welcomed nearly 120,000 refugees over the past 15 months, but fears more than double this number could pour into the country as sectarian violence in Syria continues to escalate.

Activists say any Syrian who leaves Jordan is no longer allowed to return, although some have refugee papers from UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees.

And could the revolution spread from Syria to Jordan?

Meanwhile, the uprising is drawing mixed reactions from groups inside Jordan, with Islamist figures supporting the revolution while leftists -- including Baathists -- and some tribes in the north are lobbying to show support for the president.

Activists say influential businessmen with close ties to Damascus have been hiring young Jordanians to join pro-Assad protests and harass anti-Assad activists.

On Sunday, June 10, security forces had to intervene to prevent clashes between Salafists who sympathize with the revolution and scores of leftists in the northern city of Irbid.

Several Salafist leaders have voiced their support for jihad in Syria and called for more support for the Syrian revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood movement has also expressed its backing of the anti-Assad revolt, but limits its contribution to humanitarian aid through its centers around the kingdom.

Analysts say the run-in between Salafists and leftists portend bad news for Jordan amid rising concern within the security apparatus that instability could spill over into the kingdom from Syria.

Hmmm.

Labels: Jordan, Syrian uprising

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:44 AM