Jordan's King Met Secretly With Syrian Opposition

Al-Hayat has obtained information from prominent official sources in Jordan that the Jordanian authorities have launched behind-the-scenes efforts to reorganize the ranks of the Syrian opposition. The authorities’ decision has been put into effect following the undisclosed visit of Syrian Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass to Jordan, which lasted for two days. Tlass, the son of former defense minister Mustapha Tlass, announced his defection from the Syrian regime on July 24.

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Summary : Jordan's King Abdullah II met secretly in Amman with high-level Syrian opposition leaders, reports Tamer al-Samadi, as part of a Jordanian effort to help the resistance reorganize its fragmented ranks. Publisher: Al-Hayat (Pan Arab) Original Title: Syrian Opposition Leaders Meet in Amman Author: Tamer al-Samadi First Published: September 11, 2012 Posted on: September 11 2012 Translated by: Sahar Ghoussoub Categories : Jordan   Syria

During his visit — which the Jordanian government sought to keep secret — the Syrian brigadier general met with defected Syrian Prime Minister, Riad Hijab, who fled to Jordan [last month] on the condition that he halt all his political activities in the region.

According to reports, Tlass and Hijab met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. However, the Jordanian government and the royal court refrained from confirming or denying that the meeting occurred. 

Well-informed Syrian opposition sources told Al-Hayat that on the next day Tlass headed to the camp of defected Syrian army soldiers in the border city Mafraq, where he met with hundreds of senior defected officers and generals. The meeting addressed the military and field condition of the armed opposition in Syria.

During this surprise visit, Tlass held long meetings with Syrian opposition leaders in Amman, in order to unite the political and military opposition in an overreaching framework, high-level Syrian and Jordanian sources said.

The sources told Al-Hayat that a number of Syrian opposition leaders arrived in Amman over the past week, after prior coordination with Jordanian authorities, in order to meet with Hijab in one of Amman’s luxury hotels. The meetings will be attended by military leaders representing different factions within the Free Syrian Army.

The sources added that the meetings, which are taking place on daily basis, are expected to continue until the end of next week and are being held under tight security provided by Jordanian authorities. These meetings seek to develop plans to ensure that the Syrian crisis will not be exported to neighboring countries (such as Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon).

In a brief press statement on Sunday night [Sept. 9], Jordanian government spokesman, Minister Samih Maaytah, said: “The meetings of the Syrian opposition in Amman are not officially supported by the Jordanian government.”

According to the commander of the Jordanian border guards, Brig. Gen. Hussein Zyoud, 1,800 Syrian soldiers have defected from the Syrian regime.