Turkey-Syria border wall to be completed by mid-2017
By Gunay Hasanova
Construction of a concrete wall along the Turkish-Syrian border will be completed in the first half of 2017, Turkey's Defense Minister Fikri Isik said on November 2.
Speaking during a visit to the border units in the southern province of Hatay, Isik said that almost 270 kilometers (167 miles) of the wall had been completed so far.
The minister said the construction of 200 kilometers (124 miles) of the remaining 520 kilometers (323 miles) had started.
"85 kilometers (52 miles) of the border is [part of Euphrates and Tigris] rivers for which we will take different measures," he said.
Turkey shares a 900-kilometer (559 miles) border with Syria, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011.
The Turkish Armed Forces are boosting security on the Turkish side by putting up concrete walls to stop illegal crossings and, on the Syrian side with coalition air forces, through Operation Euphrates Shield.
Turkish Armed Forces units are erecting the modular walls along the Turkish-Syrian borderline between Suruc district of Sanliurfa and Karkamis district of Gaziantep.
On August 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force with the support of the coalition aircraft launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo city.
The operation was carried out under the name “Shield of the Euphrates.” Jarabulus is located 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border.
Ankara announced that this operation will continue until the PYD militants are completely liquidated.
Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives.
Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The “Islamic State” (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh), the YPG and the PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.
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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova
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