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Jordan's Jaber Border Crossing with Syria Reopens for Cargo Traffic

Jordanian border crossing, Jaber is seen in the city of Mafraq, Jordan July 7, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Jordanian border crossing, Jaber is seen in the city of Mafraq, Jordan July 7, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
    Amman, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Jordan's Jaber Border Crossing with Syria Reopens for Cargo Traffic

Jordanian border crossing, Jaber is seen in the city of Mafraq, Jordan July 7, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Jordanian border crossing, Jaber is seen in the city of Mafraq, Jordan July 7, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Jordan's Jaber Border Crossing with Syria reopened for cargo movement Wednesday, after its temporary closure over security issues on the Syrian side.

President of the Association of Owners of Clearance and Transport Companies Daif Allah Abu Aqouleh said that back-to-back shipment is being applied for Syria and Lebanon imports, as well as Jordanian exports, until further notice.

He announced the official approval of resuming cargo movement from and to Jaber Border Crossing.

On Saturday, Jordan temporarily closed the border crossing for passengers and goods due to the security developments in south Syria, in addition to violent clashes that killed 28 on Thursday.

Amman announced Wednesday that it will resume operations at the crossing as of Sunday, after one year of limited operations due to the COVID pandemic.

Jaber Border Crossing is the main crossing between Jordan and Syria and is a key economic driver through which Jordanian goods pass to Turkey, Lebanon, and Europe.

It was closed in mid-2015 as a result of the Syrian conflict, causing grave damage to the Kingdom with whom trade reached $615 million in 2010.

The crossing was reopened in October 2018, and trade between the two countries hit $108.7 million in 2020.

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Report: France Issues New Arrest Warrant for Syria's Assad

A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the city of Qamishli, as Syrian Kurds celebrate the fall of capital Damascus to anti-government fighters on December 8, 2024. (AFP)
A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the city of Qamishli, as Syrian Kurds celebrate the fall of capital Damascus to anti-government fighters on December 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Report: France Issues New Arrest Warrant for Syria's Assad

A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the city of Qamishli, as Syrian Kurds celebrate the fall of capital Damascus to anti-government fighters on December 8, 2024. (AFP)
A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the city of Qamishli, as Syrian Kurds celebrate the fall of capital Damascus to anti-government fighters on December 8, 2024. (AFP)

Two French investigating magistrates have issued an arrest warrant against ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes, the second such move by France's judicial authorities, a source said on Tuesday.

Assad, who was ousted late last year in a lightning offensive by opposition forces, is held responsible in the warrant issued on Monday as "commander-in-chief of the armed forces" for a bombing in the Syrian city of Daraa in 2017 that killed a civilian, a source close to the case, asking not to be named, told AFP.

This mandate was issued as part of an investigation into the case of Salah Abou Nabout, a 59-year-old Franco-Syrian national and former French teacher, who was killed on June 7, 2017 following the bombing of his home by Syrian army helicopters.

The French judiciary considers that Assad ordered and provided the means for this attack, according to the source.

Six senior Syrian army officials are already the target of French arrest warrants over the case in an investigation that began in 2018.

"This case represents the culmination of a long fight for justice, in which I and my family believed from the start," said Omar Abou Nabout, the victim's son, in a statement.

He expressed hope that "a trial will take place and that the perpetrators will be arrested and judged, wherever they are".

French authorities in November 2023 issued a first arrest warrant against Assad over chemical attacks in 2013 where more than a thousand people, according to American intelligence, were killed by sarin gas.

While considering Assad's participation in these attacks "likely", public prosecutors last year issued an appeal against the warrant on the grounds that Assad should have immunity as a head of state.

However, his ouster has now changed his status and potential immunity. Assad and his family fled to Russia after his fall, according to Russian authorities.