Jordanian Embassy in Washington D.C. says no Jordanian officials advised Assad to leave Syria

Embassy says Wall Street Journal’s claims ‘baseless’, asks for correction

By JT - Dec 07,2024 - Last updated at Dec 07,2024

AMMAN — Jordanian Embassy in Washington D.C. has refuted as “baseless” a Wall Street Journal’s report, claiming that Jordanian officials have advised Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave his conflict-hit country and form a government from exile.

In a report titled, “Syrian rebels’ lightning offensive zeroes in on major city,” Wall Street Journal’s Isabel Coles claimed that Egyptian and Jordanian officials have urged Assad to leave the country and form a government in exile.

The Wall Street Journal’s article came amid reports about the Syrian army losing control over major cities to the opposition forces, which began a sudden offensive led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham fighters. The two Syrian cities of Aleppo and Hama have been reported to fall to extremist insurgents.

In a statement made available to The Jordan Times, Jordan’s Embassy in Washington D.C. denounced and denied the “baseless allegations published in The Wall Street Journal article by Isabel Coles.

“The claim that Jordanian officials urged President Assad to leave Syria and form a government in exile is completely unfounded and entirely false. We regret that such a reputable media outlet would publish unverified and misleading information without proper fact-checking,” the embassy said.

It also said that the Wall Street Journal did not reach out to the embassy to verify this allegation, which it said, “constitutes a serious breach of journalistic standards. We categorically reject this falsehood and call on The Wall Street Journal to issue an immediate correction.”

Jordan on Friday closed its Jaber border crossing with Syria, amid rising escalation of violence in the northern neighbour.

Citing security concerns, Interior Minister Mazen Faraya decided to close the Jaber crossing, the only border post with Syria, which has been witnessing renewed fighting between the Syrian army and extremists.

The Kingdom closed the Ramtha border crossing with Syria long time ago following the outbreak of the conflict in the northern neighbour in 2011.

The ministry said that the Jaber crossing will remain partially operating to receive Jordanians returning from Syria, while no passenger and cargo movement will be allowed from Jordan northwards into Syria,

The Foreign Ministry has called on Jordanians in Syria to immediately leave the country in light of the deteriorating security situation.

Ministry’s spokesperson Sufian Qudah said a “crisis cell” has been formed to evacuate Jordanians from Syria and ensure their return to the Kingdom.

Insurgents have been reported to continue their offensive toward Daraa on the southern borders with Jordan after they seized several towns and villages in Aleppo and Hama.

Rate