‘Forceful Smuggling’: Drug Networks’ New Direction on Syrian-Jordanian Border

Jordanian army patrol on the border with Syria (AFP)
Jordanian army patrol on the border with Syria (AFP)
TT
20

‘Forceful Smuggling’: Drug Networks’ New Direction on Syrian-Jordanian Border

Jordanian army patrol on the border with Syria (AFP)
Jordanian army patrol on the border with Syria (AFP)

Smuggling networks in southern Syria have developed new tactics for their cross-border operations towards Jordan.

No longer content with attempting to smuggle drugs and weapons alone, these networks have escalated to engaging in fierce clashes with Jordanian border guard forces.

The clashes are seen as an attempt by the networks to forcefully impose trafficking operations.

“The past few days have witnessed an increase in the number of operations, transforming them from mere infiltration and smuggling attempts to armed confrontations,” confirmed a military source from the General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF).

According to the source, smugglers are looking to forcefully cross borders by targeting border guard forces.

The onset of winter, coupled with fog, signals the start of a season for smuggling operations, a resident of Syrian towns near the Jordanian border, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The surge in smuggling operations has led to Syrian-Jordanian border regions experiencing prolonged nighttime clashes, the most intense being between smugglers and the Jordanian border guard forces.

A military commander from reconciliation factions in Daraa, who also requested anonymity, revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent lull in smuggling activities during the summer was exploited by traffickers to amass a significant quantity of drugs in the area.

Smugglers have also used the time to recruit and prepare youth operatives for transportation and smuggling operations during the winter, revealed the commander, who recently participated in military operations conducted by the Eighth Brigade against groups engaged in the trade and smuggling of drugs.

The commander emphasized the exploitation of weather conditions in the southern region during this time, marked by extensive fog that hampers clear visibility.

They also shed light on the resurgence of smuggling networks as evidenced by the continued flow of trafficked shipments from the region to Jordan.

This persists despite security operations in some Syrian border villages.

The operations failed to target individuals and key centers supplying Syria’s southern region with drugs.

Instead, they focused on what the commander described as “small-scale dealers” easily replaceable in the midst of security chaos, lack of safety, and deteriorating economic and living conditions in the area.



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
TT
20

52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.