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Jordan denies Syrian rebels trained for Damascus attack on its
Jordan denies Syrian rebels trained for Damascus attack on its territory
Mohamed Al-Daameh Asharq Al-Awsat 23 Feb, 2014
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/02/article55329291
Amman and Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat=97Jordanian officials denied on Saturday =
reports that Syrian insurgents were training in Jordan for an attack on the =
Syrian capital, Damascus.
Jordanian Interior Minister Hussein Al-Majali told Asharq Al-Awsat: =93The =
Jordanian Armed Forces will never allow insurgents into Jordanian territory =
or allow them to transit through Jordan to any destination . . . Syrian =
insurgents keep trying to enter Jordan especially since the Syrians are not =
controlling their borders appropriately.=94
Majali added: =93The core of the problem is the absence of control on the =
Syrian side. As for the Jordanian side, there is strict control of the =
border, although we must add that any country in the world cannot control =
its borders 100 percent.=94
However, despite official denials, leading Syrian opposition sources told =
Asharq Al-Awsat that there were plans to send a number of Syrian fighters =
who had been trained in Jordan under American supervision to take part in a =
new rebel campaign around Damascus, which is expected to be launched from =
the rebellion=92s =93southern front=94 to relieve rebel forces besieged in =
the =
governorate of Rif Dimashq.
The Syrian National Coalition=92s representative in the US, Najib Al-Ghadba=
n, =
told Asharq Al-Awsat that =93these fighters were trained by specialists fro=
m =
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in camps inside Jordan territory.=94
Ghadban said: =93The conflict is no longer Syrian=96Syrian. Because the reg=
ime =
receives great support from Iran and Russia, we too have the right to =
receive logistical support from our allies, to send a message to the regime =
that it cannot resolve the conflict militarily.=94
Ghadban said that Jordan had agreed to allow training camps on its territor=
y =
as part of its wider cooperation with the US, adding: =93Jordan has tried t=
o =
assure the Syrian regime that its policies would not be hostile to it, in =
fear of the latter carrying out terror attacks on Jordanian territory, but =
that this would not prevent Jordan being the source of support for the =
southern front.=94
Syrian pro-government newspaper, Al-Thawrah, recently warned Jordan not to =
=93play with fire=94 regarding the escalation on the southern front of the =
fighting in Syria. It accused Jordan of coordinating with the US in the =
escalation in the south following the failure of the Geneva II negotiations.
The newspaper report coincided with warnings from the Syrian ambassador to =
Jordan, Bahjat Suleiman, on his Facebook page, against the =93Americans and =
Jordanians if the southern front was opened to topple the Syrian regime,=94 =
and that the =93plan is leading the region to an abyss which will swallow u=
p =
everyone.=94
Meanwhile, a member of the FSA=92s Supreme Military Council on the southern =
front, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that =93the =
problem is not in the numbers of fighters, but in the sophisticated weaponr=
y =
which we are waiting for to achieve progress in the field against the =
regime.=94
He denied the Syrian opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) had training camps i=
n =
Jordan, saying they were based in Syria itself, albeit close to the =
Jordanian border.
=93Dera=92a has many safe areas and training camps which produced fighters =
for =
the FSA,=94 he said,
The field commander dismissed talk of a renewed rebel campaign around =
Damascus=92s southern suburbs.
The source said: =93The distance between Dera=92a and Damascus is more than=
100 =
km which means the battle will need heavy weapons which the opposition does =
not have at the moment.=94
He added that the military brigades did not look at the attack on Damascus =
as an easy task, due to the lack of =93anti-aircraft weapons.=94
An official Jordanian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also =
sought to downplay reports of FSA activity in Jordan and southern Syria, =
saying they were sparked by joint US=96Jordanian military exercises.
He said: =93Every now and again, international media sources come out with =
reports attributed to [the] Syrian opposition or the Syrian government abou=
t =
training opposition forces to involve them in the crisis in Syria, and thes=
e =
rumors increased last year when the =91Eager Lion=92 joint exercises betwee=
n =
Jordanian and US forces started, with the participation of 19 countries.=94
He added: =93We expecting similar rumors in the next two months when talk =
starts about the third stage of the joint Jordanian=96US exercises, which a=
re =
expected to start in May.=94
Jordanian and US armed forces regularly conduct joint exercises in the =
country throughout the year, and Jordan established a training center for =
Special Forces and anti-terrorism units in Yajouz, north of Amman, in =
addition to a police training center in Al-Muwaqqar, east of Amman, where =
the two centers trained Palestinian Authority forces as well as forces from =
Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and other countries.
Nadir Abdullah contributed reporting from Beirut.
________________________________________
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