Rebels rebuild border to Jordan

BORDERLINE: Rebels have begun rebuilding the Nasib border crossing with Jordan after capturing it last week, the official spokesman for the FSA-affiliated Southern Front told Syria Direct Tuesday.

“Rehabilitation and reconstruction of the border is continuing,” said Major Assam a-Rais, adding that “the border’s crossing will be civilian, not military, [staffed] by employees specialized in crossings and border points.”

Rebel group Liwa a-Rusul, loyal to the Southern Front, handed over a number of trucks and cargo being held at the Nasib border crossing to their owners Monday, according to a video released by the group.

Similarly, the Southern Front released six truck drivers who happened to be present during the battles for the Nasib border crossing, a-Rais told Syria Direct.

“They were proven to be drivers, with no relationship to the regime,” a spokesman for the pro-opposition Daraa Media Office told Syria Direct Tuesday, adding that the rebels will release the other drivers taken during the fighting soon.

Rebels in Daraa made several attempts to capture the Nasib crossing before succeeding on April 1. Government forces defending the border fled in the direction of regime-held Suwayda province, southern Daraa-based media activist Abu Dirgham al-Hourani told Syria Direct.

“The crossing’s liberation was a strategic imperative in order to liberate the entire border [with Jordan] and not allow any regime presence behind the rebels as they head towards Damascus,” said a-Rais.

-April 7, 2015

-Photo courtesy of ahfad alrasol

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