Turkey Building Removable Wall in Syrian Border Town

Wikipedia01.05.2014 Security
Turkey Building Removable Wall in Syrian Border Town

Turkey Building Removable Wall in Syrian Border Town

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Turkey is building a three-meter high wall along part of its border with Syria to try to stop people from illegally bypassing its checkpoints and prevent smuggling, officials said on Monday.

Ihlas news agency (IHA) said the cement-fortified fence would be constructed in the southern town of Reyhanli (Hatay Province) bordering Syria.

The agency added that the fence would be removable from area to another as needed.

Turkey, a staunch opponent of the Damascus regime, hosts about one million refugees from the three-year-old Syrian conflict, many of them in camps along the border. But its open-door policy enables refugees, rebels and smugglers to cross the border easily, creating a huge security challenge for Turkey.

On 11 May 2013, two car bombs exploded in the town Reyhanli (photo). At least 51 people were killed and 140 injured in the attack, the deadliest single act of terrorism to occur on Turkish soil.

On 30 September 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the al-Qaeda group operating in Iraq and Syria, accepted responsibility for the attack, threatening further terror attacks against Turkey.

Following the bombings hundreds of Syrians felt constrained to flee Reyhanli and some residents blamed the Turkish government for bringing the war in Syria to the town.

Source: IHA; The Nation; Wikipedia

 



 
 

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