As part of the wider normalisation between Syria and Arab states, one of the concerns raised by the latter has been the ongoing smuggling of drugs (captagon in particular) from Syria to the wider region. Of these Arab states, it is Jordan that seems most concerned about the matter, as its security forces have engaged in hostilities along the border to prevent captagon smuggling. In other words, the ongoing production and smuggling of captagon are seen by Jordan as a threat to its national security.
Demonstrating its commitment to combating the perceived threat, the Jordanians have now gone so far as to launch airstrikes on Syrian territory on more than one occasion, hitting targets allegedly involved in drug production and smuggling. The most recent of these incidents was an overnight strike on 18 January that principally hit the locality of Orman, which is located in the primarily Druze province of al-Suwayda', southeast of the provincial capital bearing the same name and quite close to Syria's border with Jordan.
As documented by local reporting not affiliated with the Syrian government, the casualties in this instance appear to have been civilians with no demonstrable connection to drug smuggling and production. Even so, several days passed with not a word from official Syrian state media (which nonetheless continually like to point to Palestinian civilian deaths and casualties resulting from Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza).
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