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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - A Jordanian military court on Wednesday jailed a militant and a doctor for going to neighbouring Syria to support rebels fighting the regime in the war-torn country, a judicial official said.

“The state security court sentenced a jihadist to five years in prison for infiltrating Syria to fight with the rebels last spring,” the official said.

The convict was charged with “carrying out acts that are not approved by the government and that would expose Jordan and its citizens to the risk of acts of aggression and revenge.”

“The doctor was sentenced to a year in jail for infiltrating Syria in 2011 to treat rebels,” the official added.

Jordan, which is hosting more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, has tightened its northern border and jailed dozens of men convicted of entering or trying to go to Syria to fight alongside rebel forces.

In September, the military court jailed another seven Jordanians on similar charges.

Amman denies accusations from the Syrian regime that Jordan has opened up its borders to militant fighters.

Salafist leaders in Jordan have said that hundreds of militants from the kingdom have managed to cross into Syria since the start of its conflict in March 2011.

An analysis by defense consultancy IHS Jane’s estimates that around 10,000 men are fighting for groups linked to Al Qaeda and another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline fighters, who differ from the group in that they are concentrated only on the Syrian conflict, and not on the global fight.


* Agencies