Syria: Syrian army soldiers burned a rebel flag Saturday after they and Russian military police took over the crucial Nassib post on the border with Jordan.
"The government has got its hands on a major economic hub that links Syria with other countries, above all Jordan and the Gulf states," a jubilant Syrian military source said at the scene.
Jordanians on border hope Syria regime gains can revive trade
Syria’s war: major regime victories
Nearby other troops flicked victory signs as they relaxed next to a tank decorated with a portrait of President Bashar Al Assad.
Military police from the regime's vital ally Russia stood holding their guns around a truck bearing their country's tricolour flag.
After launching a devastating offensive in Syria's southern region of Dara’a on June 19, the forces of Damascus and Moscow were finally in charge of one of their main strategic targets - the frontier crossing with Jordan.
Under an agreement announced Friday after talks between rebels and Russia, opposition fighters handed the Nassib post back to government control for the first time in three years.
In that period, the once crucial transit point for goods flowing across the Middle East has been left damaged and desolate.
Damaged infrastructure
One of the arches that vehicles crossing the border used to pass under has partially collapsed, with its concrete blocks and metal bars jutting into the air.
Two shipping containers with the word "customs" printed on them in English lay strewn on their sides blocking several lanes for traffic.
Before Syria's brutal conflict started in 2011, hundreds of trucks made the crossing daily, carrying goods from the country into Jordan.
Despite the destruction, the Syrian government - and businessmen across the border in Jordan - hope the vital trade route will soon be bustling once more.
By reclaiming Nassib, the regime now controls nearly half of Syria's 19 official border posts with neighbouring countries Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan.
The territorial gain is the latest victory for Assad, who has scored a string of successes with the backing of Russia and Iran and now dominates some 60 percent of the country.
