Syria rebels take last border crossing with Jordan

Al-Qaeda-backed fighters push back Assad regime troops; Jordanian authorities had closed the site before the battle

By ToI Staff 2 April 2015, 6:20 am

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In this April 30, 2014, file image provided by the Syrian Revolution Against Bashar Assad, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebels pray in front of their tank at al Mutayia village in the southern province of Daraa, Syria. (AP/the Syrian Revolution Against Bashar Assad)

Al-Qaeda-backed Syrian rebels took control of the last border crossing with Jordan still controlled by Syria’s Assad regime, according to new reports.

The Nasib crossing in Syria’s Daraa province was the last holdout of Syrian military forces on the border with Jordan, and its fall marks a psychological victory for anti-regime rebels. Jordanian authorities reportedly closed the crossing before the battle.

The offensive for the crossing began Tuesday, and was joined by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front on Wednesday.

According to a pro-Assad source quoted in the British daily The Telegraph, the “Syrian army withdrew from the Nasib border crossing.”

Once the crossing fell, government helicopters reportedly began dropping barrel bombs on the rebel forces, according to Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Jordan’s closing of the crossing was a “preventive measure to safeguard the lives and security of travelers due to the fighting underway on the other side of the border,” Interior Minister Hussein Majali told AFP.

Last week, rebel forces captured Bosra al-Sham, also in the Daraa province, after taking a military base in January.