Gov’t rejects Syrian terror support allegations

AMMAN — Jordan on Saturday rejected as baseless Damascus’ allegations that the Kingdom, along with other countries, supports “terrorist groups” in Syria.

Syrian ministry of foreign affairs on Friday issued a statement on the killing of tens of Druz in Idlib province by Al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Al Nusra militants, accusing several regional countries, including Jordan, of supplying these militants with arms and money.

“We reject these accusations,” Mohammad Momani, the government spokesperson, told The Jordan Times without further elaboration.

According to news reports, more than 20 Druze, one of the main religious minorities in Syria, were killed by Al Nusra last week.

Meanwhile, a US official said the Druze of Israel had raised the idea of arming the Syrian Druze with support from Israel, the United States and Jordan, according to Reuters.

However, the government stopped short of commenting on this and whether Jordan has received a request to train and arm the Druze of Syria.

The Druze have a large presence in Sweida province near the border with Jordan and Israel, where insurgents have made big gains recently, Reuters said.

The agency added that insurgents there include both Al Nusra and other rebels who do not share its jihadist ideology and say they are committed to a diverse Syria. Some of the groups are supported by Western countries and their Arab allies, who are bombing Daesh militants while also opposing President Bashar Assad.

Since the start of the turmoil in the neighbouring country, Jordanian officials and governments stressed that the Kingdom supports a “peaceful” solution there.

Syrian officials have more than once accused Jordan of interfering in their internal affairs, an “accusation” that was denied and rejected by Momani in previous statements.

Last month, the US military started training Syrian fighters in Jordan to combat Daesh militants. Asked for further details about the training of Syrians and if it is still going on, Momani refused to comment.

Meanwhile, key lawmakers in the US Congress have moved to slash funding of a secret CIA operation to train and arm rebels in Syria, The Washington Post reported on Friday, with a budget estimated at $1 billion a year.