AMMAN — Earlier this month, Russian forces started patrolling the Syria-Jordan
border, starting from the Nassib crossing, south of Daraa, all the way to the
Syrian border Guard post 107, near the town of Khazma, southeast of Al-Suwaida,
in an attempt to curb the smuggling of narcotic substances.
اضافة اعلان
Security and military experts
Jordan News spoke to
say that the move is not likely to limit the phenomenon, which has become a
worrisome scourge despite Jordan’s efforts to address it.
Retired air force colonel and military expert Mamoun
Abu Nuwar does not believe that “there will be any change” in a situation that
“has been going on for a long time.”
According to him, “this procedure is routine”, but “will
not be useful in protecting the Jordanian border and eliminating the scourge of
drugs.”
It is only “our valiant forces, the Arab Army, that
are capable of protecting the borders with high efficiency”, he said.
He added that Syria has become “the capital of drugs
and must be confronted”, stressing that Jordan exert’s great effort in this
matter.
Still, “due to the
complexity of this matter, Jordan must be helped and supported, especially
since drug smugglers started using new techniques and resorting to new means,
and there are no longer feasible solutions” that could help eliminate drug
smuggling, he pointed out.
Security expert Bashir Al-Daja told
Jordan News that
“the goal of military patrols is not to fight smugglers, but rather to enforce
security in southern Syria where armed gangs threaten Syrian security, not
Jordanian security.”
Daja said that “unfortunately, the process of drug
smuggling is carried out by military factions affiliated with the Syrian armed
forces, which facilitate the flow of drugs toward Jordan.”
“If the Russian forces want to solve the drug
problem, they must eliminate the farms and factories and where drugs are grown
and manufactured, and sent by military factions and smugglers toward Jordan,”
he said, stressing that “this must be fought on Syrian territory and not on the
Syrian border”.
Retired police Brig. Gen. Hashem Al-Majali told
Jordan News that “these patrols could either reduce the scourge of drug
smuggling or increase it”.
By way of explanation, he said that “drug dealers
have money, and if this money can buy power (the Russian patrols), it will be a
very dangerous thing. If so, then the matter will be more complicated and
difficult, especially since they have very modern technology.”
“However, if the Russian decision to conduct patrols
is the result of an understanding between the Jordanian Armed Forces and the
Russian armed forces, this may actually limit drug smuggling and may also lead
to a complete prevention of drug smuggling,” he added.
Majali also believes that “the attack that we are facing is
organized and fierce, and some militias and parties may be behind it.”
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