Syria Rebel Border Seizure Strands Lebanon Drivers
At least 30 Lebanese truck drivers are stranded on the Syrian-Jordanian border after rebels seized the Syrian side, prompting Amman to close a frontier crossing, a union said Friday.
"Between 30 and 35 Lebanese drivers and their trucks and refrigerated vehicles have been trapped in the free zone on the Jordanian-Syrian border since Wednesday," Omar Al-Ali, head of the Lebanese refrigerated truck union, told AFP.
Ali said the drivers were trying to cross from Syria into Jordan, but were stranded after Amman closed the crossing.
The drivers entered the crossing on Wednesday, as a group of rebels, backed by Al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front, seized control of it after clashes with government forces.
Ali said some of the drivers were stranded in the duty free zone between the two crossings, while others were stuck in the Syrian customs area.
After the seizure of the Nasib crossing, called the Jaber crossing on the Jordanian side, Amman announced it would temporarily shut the passage.
Ali said some of the trucks belonging to the drivers trapped in the customs area had been looted, and that several of the men had been injured in clashes.
"The drivers are terrified", he said, unable to proceed into Jordan and afraid of returning into the area controlled by rebels and Al-Nusra.
Ali urged Lebanese authorities to appeal to Jordan to open the crossing and allow the men through.
A Jordanian security source confirmed that "some goods, trucks and cars were taken by armed men from the free zone between the two countries" but had no details on the drivers.
The country's interior minister, quoted by Jordanian media on Friday, said the border would "remain closed until it is safe for people and goods to cross."
A Lebanese government source said contacts were underway with Amman to "facilitate the entry of the drivers."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said around 300 cars and trucks were stuck at the crossing, and reported looting of the border passage by rebels and local residents.
Nasib was the last border crossing between Syria and Jordan under government control, after rebels seized the Jamarek crossing in October 2013.
The crossing's capture followed a series of setbacks for government forces in recent weeks, including the fall of the northwestern city of Idlib to a coalition of Islamist groups.
Source: Agence France Presse
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