News / Syria

Syrian army raises national flag on Quneitra crossing after official reopening

Monday, 15 October 2018 2:39 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 15 October 2018 3:38 PM ]

A national flag is seen on the Syrian side of Quneitra crossing from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on October 15, 2018. (Photo by AP)

The Syrian army has raised the national flag over Quneitra crossing on the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after nearly five years since it was taken over by militant groups.

In a statement to Syria's official news agency SANA on Monday, Quneitra Governor Hammam Dbayat said the official reopening of the key crossing came after the great victory achieved by the Syrian army against anti-government militants and the return of the UN peacekeepers to the Golan Heights.

In August, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) returned to the border between Syria and the occupied territories and carried out a first patrol in the area, about four years after it was shuttered due to militant attacks.

The UN force returned to the area after Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, succeeded in recapturing territory near the Golan Heights and driving out armed militant groups from a "de-escalation zone."

SANA news agency said the reopening of the crossing would ensure communication with Syrian people in Golan, facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid and crossing of students along the border.

In addition to Quneitra, Jordanian officials announced a day earlier the reopening of Naseeb crossing, Jordan’s main border crossing with Syria, after a three-year closure due to the presence of foreign-backed terrorists.

PressTV-Jordan reopens vital border crossing with Syria

Jordan has reopened its main border crossing with Syria, bringing a key Middle East trade route back to life after a three-year closure.

In July, Syrian troops recaptured the crossing, which terrorists had seized in 2015, disrupting the major trade route between Syria and Jordan, Lebanon and oil-rich Persian Gulf countries.

The reopening of the crossing is a major boost to Jordan's struggling economy amid price rises and austerity measures which have sparked the country's worst protests in decades.

"The Naseeb crossing is a vital lifeline for trade between the two brotherly countries Jordan and Syria through them to other Arab countries," said Jordan's government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat.

The resumption of commercial trade through the crossing is a diplomatic victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is facing boycott by Arab states allied to Saudi Arabia.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

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