AMMAN — Military gains by Syrian jihadist and rebel forces along the Syrian-Jordanian border on Sunday placed Jordan on “high alert”, military sources said, as the armed groups moved closer to the occupied Golan Heights.

by Taylor Luck, JORDAN TIMES

Lebanese Red Cross ambulances and villagers wait for Syrians, who fled the fighting in their country, in the Shebaa region on Saturday. Witnesses said at least 150 Syrians had fled the fighting and crossed the border into Lebanon’s Shebaa region, just north of the Golan (Reuters photo)

According to a Jordanian military source stationed in the northern region, Jordanian forces mobilised across the north early on Sunday after the Free Syrian Army (FSA) announced its seizure of a 30-kilometre stretch of the Jordanian-Syrian border, running from southwest Daraa to the occupied Golan Heights.

The FSA’s so-called Yarmouk Martyrs’ Brigades was assisted by Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al Nusra, a jihadist coalition, in its “strategic victory”.

The gains came after an intense two-day battle with regime forces, rebel forces and security sources say, prompting fears that Islamic militants are now patrolling the Jordanian border and the edges of the disputed Golan Heights.

“We know that jihadist forces played a large role in Sunday’s victory and are currently controlling the area,” said the military source, who was not authorised to speak to the press.

“We will not let them remain in this position of control.”

Security officials ruled out the possibility of Jordanian forces entering Syria, stressing that Jordan will respond with “in-kind force” to any aggressions aimed at Jordanian territory from Syria.

More than simply raising tensions along the Jordanian-Syrian border, security sources say that the rebels’ gains on Sunday have increased the likelihood of potential clashes along the occupied Golan Heights drawing in occupying Israeli forces.

Shortly after Syrian rebel and jihadist advances on Sunday, Israel claimed that its military patrols in the disputed region came under fire from armed groups, and responded by firing into Syrian territory and destroying an “artillery post”, from where the initial shots were allegedly fired.

In a statement made on Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon confirmed the Golan skirmish, warning of the “potential explosiveness” of rebel advances in the region.

“Any violation of Israeli sovereignty and fire from the Syrian side will be answered by silencing the source using fire,” Yaalon warned in the press statement.

Syrian rebel forces denied any intentions to threaten Jordanian security or “march on the Golan Heights”, stressing that FSA forces are currently preparing to advance eastwards to capture the Ramtha border crossing point into Jordan.

“The only enemy of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian people is the monstrous regime of Bashar Assad — we have not and will not engage with Israeli forces,” said Abu Kamal Al Jolani, an FSA officer based in the Golan Heights who reportedly played a role in the recent operation.

“Our rifles are pointed at the regime forces and we will not allow anyone to fire a single shot into Jordan or the Golan,” Jolani told The Jordan Times.

Syrian rebels claim that it is the FSA’s Yarmouk Martyrs’ Brigades, not jihadist forces, that are now in control of the 30-kilometre stretch of border that might become the core of a “liberated” buffer zone near the Golan region.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian rebel and jihadist forces captured over 30 kilometres of territory and military checkpoints stretching form the border village of Sahem Al Golan, one kilometre from the Jordanian-Syrian border and stretching to the Golan Heights.

The victory came less than 24 hours after the FSA captured the strategic 34th Brigade military base outside Daraa.

Despite controlling up to 90 per cent of the Jordanian-Syrian border, rebel forces have repeatedly failed to capture the Ramtha and Jaber/Nasib border crossings — Syria’s main conduits to Jordan.

Officials claim the increasing influence of jihadists in Syria represents a “direct threat” to Jordan’s national security, pointing to a foiled Al Qaeda plot unveiled in last October, targeting Western diplomatic missions in Amman with weapons smuggled from Syria.

In response to recent clashes between Jordanian military forces and jihadists crossing the border, Amman has imposed a security crackdown across northern Jordan, intensifying a campaign that has netted some 30 Islamic militants since the beginning of the year.

http://jordantimes.com/syrian-jihadists-gains-near-border-place-jordan-on-high-alert