Jordan bolsters security along Syria border Number of troops doubled as Syria warns neighbour is "playing with fire" by hosting US-backed training of rebels.....

Jordan has tightened security along its border with Syria as Syrian state media warned that the kingdom is "playing with fire" by allowing the United States and other countries to train and arm Syrian rebels on its territory.

A Jordanian security official said on Thursday that the kingdom had tightened security along its 370km border with Syria, including the doubling of the number of soldiers in the last two days, though he declined to disclose the size of the force.

The Syrian warning, coinciding with significant rebel advances near the border, plays into Jordanian fears that its larger neighbour might try to retaliate for its support of the opposition fighters.



It followed statements from US and other Western and Arab officials that Jordan has been facilitating arms shipments and hosting training camps for Syrian rebels since last October.

A front-page editorial in the official daily al-Thawra accused Amman of adopting a policy of "ambiguity" by training the rebels while at the same time publicly insisting on a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

Jordan is "playing with fire", state radio said.

The rebels reportedly being trained in Jordan are mainly secular tribesmen from central and southern Syria who once served in the army and police.

The force is expected to fill a security vacuum by protecting the border with Jordan, assisting displaced Syrians and setting up a safe haven for refugees.

'Proactive steps'

They are also envisioned as a counterbalance to al-Qaeda-linked groups that have proven to be among the most effective of the myriad rebel factions fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces on the ground.

"Jordan can't sit idle and watch al-Qaeda and other militants seizing control of its common border with Syria," Jordanian Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah said. "It must take proactive steps to arrive at a state of equilibrium in the security structure on the border."
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said opposition fighters seized most of the Karak district in the southern border province of Deraa after several days of fighting.

The Observatory also reported heavy clashes in the town of Sheikh Maskeen, on the route from the Jordanian capital, Amman, to Damascus, and at a checkpoint outside a camp for displaced Syrians on the outskirts of Deraa.
On Wednesday, opposition fighters captured a military base outside Deraa. That victory followed the rebel takeover of Dael, one of the province's bigger towns, and another air defence base in the area late last month.
Humanitarian crisis

Meanwhile, the Red Cross said on Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Syria is worsening rapidly with some areas a landscape of "devastation and destruction".

The Syrian government's restrictions on aid convoys have meant most supplies are distributed in government-held areas.

Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said aid workers had been able to make more trips into opposition-held areas in the past two weeks, indicating Damascus may be softening its stance on convoys into such territory.

He said the workers were "not pleasantly surprised" by what they found in areas accessible for the first time, with the need for food, sanitation, water and medicine increasing.

"We saw devastation and destruction," he said.

"What we were able to achieve is not enough. The needs are growing exponentially while our ability to react is growing linearly."

Activists called March the deadliest month so far in the conflict. About 70,000 people have been killed and millions displaced during the two-year old uprising, the United Nations says.
(AlJazeera)