Syrian and Jordanian forces clash on border

Third skirmish this week leaves Jordanian soldier, two refugees injured

By Ilan Ben Zion 2 August 2012, 4:45 pm

Edit

Ilan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.

People carry the body of 6-year-old Syrian boy Bilal El-Lababidi during his funeral in Ramtha, Jordan, Friday, July 27, 2012. The boy was shot dead by Syrian border guards, his mother said. (Photo credit: AP/Mohammad Hannon)

Skirmishes between Syrian and Jordanian forces along the border on Thursday left a Jordanian soldier and two Syrian nationals injured. It was the third reported clash between the the two armies this week.

The Jordanians were reportedly assisting 400 Syrian refugees to cross the border near the town of Ramtha when Syrian troops opened fire, Al Jazeera reported.

[mappress mapid=”2072″]

Amman acknowledged that the Syrian army shot across the border at fleeing refugees, the Jordan Times reported, but denied that Jordanian soldiers were involved.

Hundreds of Syrian refugees have reportedly been killed or injured on the Jordanian border while attempting to flee the violence that has gripped the country for the past 18 months. Approximately 140,000 Syrian refugees now reside in Jordan, and their rate of entry has risen to an estimated 2,000 per day in recent months.