AMMAN: Jordan hopes a cease-fire it helped negotiate in neighboring southern Syria will eventually lead to a secure border, the reopening of a vital trade crossing and a gradual return home for Syrian war refugees who sought asylum in the kingdom.
For now, these goals seem out of reach as key security concerns remain unanswered.
Fighting has decreased significantly in southern Syria — a patchwork of areas under regime or opposition control — since the truce was negotiated by Russia, the US and Jordan in July.
But Jordan still seeks guarantees from Syrian President Bashar Assad and his backers, Russia and Iran, that moderate opposition fighters and civilians will not be harmed as regime forces continue to advance in the southeast, despite the truce.
Jordan also wants to see Iranian-backed forces kept away from its border, and is concerned about a potential resurgence of extremist opposition groups.
Jordan has received “mixed messages” about Assad’s intentions, one official said.
He said Jordan fears destabilization and renewed refugee flows if Assad opts for retaliation.
Despite a slight rise in returns, Syrian refugees in Jordan also seem to be hedging their bets. The UN refugee agency said 1,830 refugees returned voluntarily to Syria in July and August, compared to 1,700 between January and June.
Separately, aid officials have said Jordan has deported Syrian refugees — about 400 a month since the beginning of 2017 — according to a report on Monday by Human Rights Watch.
Jordan seeks more security guarantees in south Syria truce
Jordan seeks more security guarantees in south Syria truce
Two Tunisia columnists handed over three years in prison
- Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies have already been in detention for almost two years
- They were due to be released in January 2025 but have remained in custody on charges of money laundering
TUNIS: Two prominent Tunisian columnists were sentenced on Thursday to three and a half years in prison each for money laundering and tax evasion, according to a relative and local media.
The two men, Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, have already been in detention for almost two years for statements considered critical of President Kais Saied’s government, made on radio, television programs and social media.
They were due to be released in January 2025 but have remained in custody on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
“Three and a half years for Mourad and Borhen,” Zeghidi’s sister, Meriem Zeghidi Adda, wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
Since Saied’s power grab, which granted him sweeping powers on July 25, 2021, local and international NGOs have denounced a regression of rights and freedoms in Tunisia.
Dozens of opposition figures and civil society activists are being prosecuted under a presidential decree officially aimed at combatting “fake news” but subject to a very broad interpretation denounced by human rights defenders.
Others, including opposition leaders, have been sentenced to heavy prison terms in a mega-trial of “conspiracy against state security.”
In 2025, Tunisia fell 11 places in media watchdog Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, dropping from 118th to 129th out of 180 countries.
