Syria: Jordan air strike kills drug lord and his family

Jordan is reported to have carried out an air strike in southern Syria yesterday, targeting a well-known drug smuggler. “Marai Al-Ramthan, his wife and six children were killed in a Jordanian air force strike” close to the Syria-Jordan border in the east of Sweida province, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Al-Ramthan is considered to be the most prominent drug trafficker in the region,” explained the organisation, “and the main smuggler of drugs, including Captagon, into Jordan.”

The Hashemite Kingdom has yet to comment on the strike, which followed a meeting in Amman on 1 May between several Arab foreign ministers. The Syrian government agreed at the meeting to cooperate with neighbouring countries “affected by drug trafficking and smuggling across the Syrian border.”

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According to a statement by Jordan’s foreign ministry, Damascus said that it will work with Jordan and Iraq to identify sources of drug production and smuggling on its borders with the two countries, and will seek to “take necessary steps to end smuggling operations.”

Syria has become a regional source for the highly-addictive amphetamine, with wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states considered to be the main market. The lucrative industry, worth billions of dollars, has also generated considerable revenue for the Syrian state, although Damascus has denied allegations that it profits from drug smuggling.

On Sunday, Syria was welcomed back into the Arab League, ending an 11-year absence due to the state’s brutal crackdown against anti-government protests. Member states agreed “to resume the participation of the delegations of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in the meetings of the Council of the League of Arab States,” according to an official statement. The Arab League also stressed the need to take “practical and effective steps” to resolve the Syrian crisis.

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