Beirut, Oct 27. (dpa/GNA) – Syria has condemned Jordanian airstrikes on the south of the country as an unacceptable violation of Syrian sovereignty, saying Jordan had launched the attacks without prior coordination.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the two countries, were working to establish an urgent joint field and security committee, to prevent further incidents and strengthen coordination along their shared border.
Jordan launched airstrikes on Monday evening, in response to a deadly attack last Friday on a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate.
Jordanian authorities said the suspected attackers, had links to militant groups in southern Syria.
Jordan said its air force had targeted Islamic State militants in southern Syria in response, reporting that around 20 members of the group had been killed. The claim could not be independently verified.
The strikes hit three locations in the Daraa province, and one in the neighbouring province of Sweida, according to available information.
Syrian authorities put the death toll at eight, including at least three children, and reported several people wounded.
Syria condemned the church attack, describing it as an assault on religious and humanitarian values, and an attempt to undermine Jordan’s social cohesion.
Despite its sharp criticism of the airstrikes, Damascus stressed the longstanding ties between the two countries, warning that unnamed parties were seeking to sow discord and damage relations.
In Daraa, however, the immediate focus was on the families left behind, as relatives and neighbours mourned the dead and struggled to come to terms with the loss.
People living in villages in southern Syria wept and questioned why their state had failed to protect them. “We are people of this land, not terrorists,” one villager told dpa, as residents gathered to mourn the dead and chanted slogans against Jordan and its king. “Where is our state, and why is it not protecting us? We are a sovereign country,” another resident said.
For 67-year-old Masoud al-Saleem, the loss was devastating. He survived the strikes but lost his wife, son and three grandchildren.
“I lost most of my family. Who will bring them back now? Our children are not terrorists. Where is our state?” he told dpa.
GNA