AMMAN, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Jordan has been intensifying its efforts to fight narcotics smuggling along its borders with Syria amid the rise in drug-related crimes in the kingdom.
"Jordan has stepped up its capabilities and is targeting all smugglers seeking to smuggle narcotics into Jordan and other countries via Jordan," Saeb Rawashdeh, a political analyst at the Jordan Press Foundation, told Xinhua.
Citing figures by the Jordanian Armed Forces, the political analyst said Jordan's army has killed 34 smugglers in 2022 in four armed confrontations with drug gangs coming from Syria, adding 27 were killed in a major operation alone in January.
In late May, the army said in a statement that they killed four infiltrators who tried to smuggle narcotics from Syria into Jordan.
Rawashdeh told Xinhua that Jordan has confiscated millions of Captagon pills and large quantities of other narcotics.
"The southern borders in Syria are currently home to various militias that aim to smuggle narcotics into Jordan and other countries, as selling drugs is the main source of income for these militias," he said.
Director of the Directorate of Moral Guidance in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces Mustafa Al-Hiyari said in a recent interview with the state-owned Al-Mamlaka TV that Jordan faces a war with drug smugglers on the borders with Syria.
The smugglers were equipped with weapons and targeted the Jordanian army personnel, he added.
Amer Saad, a retired military officer from the army, told Xinhua that the smugglers took advantage of the chaos and security vacuum in the south of Syria, and must be thwarted in a harsh manner.
"The smugglers directly target our officers at the borders with Syria. So the army changed its rules of engagement and is striking the drug smugglers," Saad said. ■
