Jordan: Drug Smuggling Attempts via Syria Persist

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
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Jordan: Drug Smuggling Attempts via Syria Persist

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that drug smuggling attempts continue across the Syrian border, according to the Arab World News Agency.

Speaking at the virtual ministerial meeting to Launch the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs in Washington, Safadi said that Jordan confiscated over 65 million Captagon pills during the past two years.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted the virtual Ministerial-level meeting to provide the foundation to combine efforts and prevent the production and trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs, identify emerging drug trends and use patterns, and respond to their public health impacts.

Safadi said that forming the coalition is essential in addressing the escalating threat of industrial drugs.

He called for cooperation in providing border protection technology and exchanging intelligence information in confronting the drug threat, which requires a joint international effort.

Last month, the Jordanian Armed Forces announced that it had shot down a drone carrying narcotics from Syrian territory.

Combating drug smuggling and dumping in the Jordanian market topped Jordan's priorities in recent talks in Amman, with the participation of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.

In a statement after the meeting, Syria agreed to help prevent drug trafficking, work to identify drug traffickers and cooperate with Jordan and Iraq to end trafficking.

Last May, according to press reports, Jordan launched an air strike targeting the most prominent strongholds of drug smuggling and manufacturing in southern Syria, killing a Syrian drug smuggler.



Italy: UNIFIL Has Vital Role, Mission Must be Strengthened

17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Italy: UNIFIL Has Vital Role, Mission Must be Strengthened

17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa

The UN peacekeeping mission to Lebanon is vital to ending war in the region and needs to be strengthened, not withdrawn from combat zones as Israel has demanded, Italy's defense minister said on Thursday.
The UN mission known as UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel -- an area that has seen fierce clashes this month between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.
Israel has said the UN forces are providing a human shield for Hezbollah and has fired at the UNIFIL bases repeatedly over the past week, injuring several peacekeepers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says UNIFIL should temporarily "get out of harm's way".
Italy has long been a major contributor to the multi-national operation and has denounced Israel for its actions, straining relations between two nations, which have been very close under Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's leadership.
"Israel needs to understand that these (UN) soldiers are not working for any one side. They are there to help maintain peace and promote regional stability," Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament on Thursday.
He said the resolution establishing the UNIFIL mandate was last revised in 2006 and needed updating.
"UNIFIL is a complex mission with a mandate that is difficult to implement, has inadequate rules of engagement and forces that are not equipped for the current conflict," he said.
Crosetto has called on the United Nations to update its operational capacity, including creating a rapid deployment force to enhance UNIFIL's freedom of movement and giving them more fire power.
UNIFIL is meant to ensure peace in southern Lebanon and guarantee that only the regular Lebanese army is present in the area. However, it has proved incapable of preventing Hezbollah from building up its forces or preventing Israeli incursions.
"The practical disconnect between the assigned mission and the capacity to implement it makes it more necessary than ever to rethink and strengthen UNIFIL," Crosetto said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel saw UNIFIL as playing a key role in the "day after" war on Hezbollah.
Meloni is due to travel to Beirut on Friday to discuss the situation with Lebanese officials -- the first Western leader to visit the country since the latest surge of violence.
Crosetto said he would also go to Beirut and Tel Aviv next week.
"I believe that Lebanon is a key piece for the stability of the entire Middle East," he said. "If we cannot even find the strength to have a strong, unified international action in a place like this, we probably won't succeed anywhere."