Syria and Jordan reopen border crossing

The border crossing between Jordan and Syria officially opened to civilians and trade today after being closed for three years.

The Nassib crossing opened an 8 a.m., a border official at the Jaber checkpoint on the Jordanian side said.

According to the Jordanian state news agency Petra, Jordan and Syria had agreed to open the border to all in a change from an earlier statement that normal traffic would not be allowed until a later date.

"We are fully ready to receive passengers and transport of goods. We expect the traffic to be slow now at the start, but in coming days we expect passenger movement to pick up," Reuters cited head of the Jaber crossing Imad Riyalat as saying

The Syrian government retook the area around the Nassib border crossing with Jordan in July during a Russian-backed offensive to drive rebels from their stronghold in southwest Syria. 

The closure of the Nassib crossing in 2015 cut a crucial transit route for hundreds of trucks a day transporting goods between Turkey and the Gulf, and Lebanon and the Gulf, in multi-billion dollar annual trade.