Regional
Syrian and Jordanian army and intelligence chiefs meet over drug war along border
Army and security chiefs from Jordan and Syria met on Sunday to curb a growing drug trade along their mutual border that has seen deadly skirmishes, blamed mainly on pro-Iranian militias who hold sway in southern Syria.
The meeting comes after Syria’s neighbors got a pledge from Damascus during a meeting last May in Amman to cooperate with their efforts to rein in Syria’s flourishing drug trade in exchange for helping end its pariah status after a brutal crackdown of peaceful protesters during the civil war, Reuters reported.
The talks headed by Jordanian army head Lieutenant General Yousef Hunaiti and Syrian Defence Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas in the presence of both countries’ intelligence chiefs also tackled the threat drugs posed to regional stability, a Jordanian foreign ministry statement said.
“The meeting discussed cooperation in confronting the drug danger and its sources of production and smuggling and the parties that organize and execute smuggling operations across the border,” the statement said.
Syria is accused by Arab governments and the West of producing the highly-addictive and lucrative amphetamine captagon and organizing its smuggling into the Gulf, with Jordan a main transit route.
The kingdom has been alarmed about lawlessness in the strategic southern region where it echoes Washington’s accusations that pro-Iranian militias protected by units with the Syrian army run the multi-billion dollar smuggling networks.
The U.S., Britain and European Union have blamed Syria’s government for the production and export of the drug, naming Maher al-Assad, the head of the army’s elite Fourth Division and the president’s brother, as a key figure.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government denies involvement in drug-making and smuggling or complicity by Iranian-backed militias linked to its army and security forces. Iran says the allegations are part of Western plots against the country.
Jordan, impatient with what it says are broken promises to curb the drug war, took matters into its own hands and in May made a rare strike inside Syrian territory where an Iran-linked drugs factory was demolished, local and Western intelligence sources said.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi earlier this month said in Damascus his country would not hesitate to act against any threat to its national security and urged Damascus to act more forcefully, Reuters reported.
In the last few weeks, Jordan’s army downed two Iranian operated drones coming from Syria with one the army said carried weapons, a worrying development for Amman which had in the past accused Damascus of sending militants to wage terror attacks.
Jordan requested more U.S. military aid to bolster security on the border, where Washington has since the more than decade-long conflict began given around $1 billion to establish border posts, officials say.
Jordan has a roughly 375 km long border with Syria.
Regional
Floods, landslides kill 56 in India and 14 in Nepal
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Heavy rain and storms have triggered floods and landslides that killed 56 people in India, while in Nepal, 14 have died and another 11 are missing, with authorities there warning on Sunday that more flash floods are possible, Reuters reported.
India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 mm of rain between September 25 and the morning of September 27, compared with a normal 7.6 mm for the period, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the state’s relief commissioner, said on Sunday.
Authorities are carrying out rescue operations in waterlogged areas and distributing relief, while officials have been told to assess crop damage and provide compensation.
In addition to the 56 deaths, 46 people have been injured and more than 1,000 houses have been damaged.
Nepali authorities warned of possible flash floods in 49 of the country’s 77 districts, with more than half facing high flood or flash-flood risks as water levels in major rivers and tributaries continued to rise.
Shanti Mahat, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said Rasuwa and Nuwakot, areas hit by last month’s deadly floods that killed more than 1,450 people and left thousands still missing, should remain “alert” but were not currently considered high-risk areas.
Power supply has been completely disrupted in the Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, with authorities working to restore electricity, energy ministry officials said.
Flooding of the Rahuganga River damaged the structure and transmission-line towers of a 40-megawatt hydropower project, Water Resources and Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said.
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Several major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada, were above danger levels, read the report.
Floods and landslides also disrupted telecommunications in parts of Nepal after damage to optical fibres and power supplies, Communications Minister Bikram Timilsinha said.
In a separate incident in Nepal, 10 local workers were also missing after an avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-ft) Himlung Himal in the northern Manang district, hiking officials said.
The workers had been setting up tents for foreign climbers, who were not present when the avalanche struck.
Regional
Aimal Wali Khan calls Dera Ismail Khan attack a ‘state failure’
Khan called on the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to take greater responsibility for protecting citizens and addressing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
Awami National Party (ANP) President and Senator Aimal Wali Khan has condemned the suicide attack on the Aman Mela checkpoint in the Darazinda area of Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district, describing it as a failure by the state to ensure the security of citizens.
According to Dawn, Khan called on the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to take greater responsibility for protecting citizens and addressing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
In a statement, Khan said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is experiencing one of the darkest periods in its history. He alleged that the Pashtun population is facing systematic violence and said prolonged insecurity has left the province deeply affected by terrorism.
Khan also condemned an attack on an ambulance reportedly carrying the body of a person killed in the blast, describing it as an “inhumane act.”
The ANP leader questioned the government’s response to the worsening security situation, saying that blaming groups referred to by authorities as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan” does not absolve the state of its responsibility to protect citizens.
He urged the federal and provincial governments to stop blaming each other and instead focus on restoring peace and strengthening security across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Regional
Blast in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan kills 11, injures 30
Eleven people were killed and 30 injured in a blast in Dera Ismail Khan in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, emergency service Rescue 1122 said.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.
The blast occurred near Aman Mela in the Darazinda area of the district, Rescue 1122 said in a statement.
Rescue teams from the Darazinda station reached the scene and began relief operations, providing medical assistance to the wounded and taking them to hospital, the service said.
Security incidents have continued in the district this month, including attacks involving the Pakistani Taliban.
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