Syria reopened its border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday morning, with regular passenger and commercial traffic resuming, according to state news agency SANA. The Nassib crossing, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side, is Jordan’s only border crossing with Syria and a main route for trade and travel between the two countries. It had been closed briefly after Jordanian airstrikes in southern Syria on Monday. Syria’s ports and customs authority said normal activity resumed on Wednesday, with facilitation continuing for pilgrims and urgent humanitarian cases.

Traffic resumes after one-day closure

The two countries also agreed to form a security committee to examine the aftermath of the strikes, after a phone call between their foreign ministers. Jordan said its strikes targeted ISIL hideouts in southern Syria in response to a church shooting in Karak, Jordan, on Friday, for which ISIL claimed responsibility. Syria’s emergency ministry said its teams responded to attacks at four sites and that seven people were killed in Deraa and Suwayda, including five members of one family, three of them children. Jordan’s foreign minister expressed deep regret over civilian deaths and stressed respect for Syria’s sovereignty, while Syria has said the operation was not coordinated with Damascus.

A joint inquiry, and a disputed account

The reopening matters because the crossing carries a large share of overland trade and travel between the two countries, and a longer closure would have disrupted both. The new committee will need to address the coordination dispute if cross-border cooperation is to continue, since the two sides still describe the strikes differently: Jordan emphasises the militants targeted, while Syria emphasises the civilian deaths. For now, traffic is moving again, but the underlying disagreement has not been resolved.

Sources: Bytes Europe, Voice of Emirates / SANA.