23 February 2017•Update: 24 February 2017
AL-RAMTHA, Jordan
The Jordanian authorities on Thursday closed schools in the Liwaa al-Ramtha area near the country’s northern border with Syria due to a recent intensification of fighting in Syria’s southern city of Daraa.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Jordanian Education Ministry spokesman Walid al-Jallad said all schools in the area had shut their doors Thursday “due to fierce battles” now underway on the Syrian side of the border.
“The move is a precautionary measure aimed at guaranteeing students’ safety,” he added.
He did not say when the schools would be reopened.
Despite a ceasefire in Syria that went into effect last December, recent days have seen clashes erupt in the southern city of Daraa between a Daesh affiliate and the opposition Free Syrian Army.
Jordan shares a 375-kilometer border with conflict-ridden Syria, and more than 1.3 million Syrians have sought refuge in Jordan since the conflict began almost six years ago.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since mid-2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which had erupted as part of the “Arab Spring” uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed in the conflict and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.
*Reporting by Laith Junaidi; Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg
