Border crossings are considered very important for states, forces, armies and even organization and individuals as they are used for the entry of goods, materials, goods and individuals, facilitating trade exchange operations, and the delivery of humanitarian aid from humanitarian and relief organizations, in addition to stopping the flow of illegal immigration
During the Syrian conflict the rival forces sought to control on the border crossings, where these crossings was used to impose the blackmail and imposing the siege, in particular against NE, Syria, as Turkey has done since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, Russia at the end of 2019, and the Damascus government at the beginning of this year, in addition to facilitating the entry of tens of thousands of people who joined mercenary organizations such as the Jabhet al-Nusra and ISIS/ Daesh, as Turkey did.
'Border crossings in Syria before the revolution'
This; Syria is bordered to the north by Turkey, to the east by Iraq, to the south by Jordan, and to the west by Palestine, Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. Syria is linked with these countries by several official crossings, in addition to the presence of several legal and illegal outlets.
To the south, Jordan is linked to Syria with geographical borders of more than 375 km in length, and along these borders there is the Nassib crossing, which is the main passage between Syria and Jordan, in addition to the customs crossing; There are also several irregular corridors west of the city of Daraa, most notably Tel Shaheb and the Badia in the As-Suwayda Governorate, offset by the Jordanian city of Ruwaished.
As for the west, it connects Syria and Lebanon with a 375-kilometer border, and along these borders there are 6 crossings: “al-Arida Crossing - al-Dabousiya Crossing - Tal Kalakh Crossing - al-Jousiya Crossing - Hamra Crossing - al-Masnaa border crossing on the road between Damascus and Beirut." There are also several unofficial outlets and corridors that extend from the city of Zabadani to the Lebanese highlands of Arsal and Tafil.
In the north, the length of the border strip between Syria and Turkey is about 822 kilometers, and it extends from the Ain Dewar region to the Sanjak of Alexandretta, which Turkey occupied in 1939, and officially annexed it to Turkish territory in 1974, and there are several official crossings along the border strip, namely: Kassab crossing in Latakia, Bab al-Hawa crossing in Idlib, Bab al-Salam in Aleppo, Jarablus and Girê Spî/ Tal Abyad crossing, Kobani crossing and Nusaybin crossing in Qamishlo, in addition to the presence of several outlets in Serêkaniyê and Ad-Darbasiyah.
To the east, the length of the Syrian-Iraqi border is more than 599 km, and along this strip there are three main crossings, namely: Tel Koçer/ al-Yarubiya crossing in the Al-Jazeera region, the al-Bukamal (al-Qaim) and al-Tanf crossing in al-Bukamal belonging to Deir-ez-Zor; In addition to al-Walid outlet, and several other unofficial outlets.
'Existing form of crossings in Syria'
After erupting the Syrian crisis on March 2011, several countries interfered in the Syrian issue sought to control on the crossings, led by Turkey, which occupied large parts of Syria, starting with the city of Jarablus on August 24, 2016, through a play between it and ISIS/Daesh mercenaries, to Al-Bab, Azaz, Idlib, Afrin, Girê Spî/ Tal Abyad and Serêkaniyê/Ras al-Ain. And the movement of border crossings and outlets changed, and the forces controlling them used them for their own interests, such as the entry of mercenaries, and pressure on other powers.
It is noteworthy that the border crossings were exploited in Syria against the people of NE, Syria, by the Turkish occupation state that occupied parts of NE, Syria, and Russia, an ally of the Damascus government and a member of the United Nations, which used the Russian veto to prevent aid from reaching the people of NE, Syria from Tel Koçer/ al-Yarubiya crossing.
In the north, Turkey has closed all border crossings that link regions of NE, Syria with the regions of Bakur (Northern Kurdistan) and Turkey, since 2014 (that is, after the liberation of the border areas with Turkey from ISIS/Daesh mercenaries, especially Girê Spî/ Tal Abyad and Suluk), although they were wide open to the factions. The mercenaries from Ahrar al-Sham, and then the Jabhet al-Nusra, then ISIS/ Daesh.
The crossings now open on the northern side are: the Jarablus crossing, which was opened after the Turkish occupation state took control of the city in late August 2016, and it is directly managed by the Turkish army, and the al-Ra'i crossing, which was opened in 2017, is managed by the mercenaries of the Sultan Murad Division, and the Bab al-Salam crossing in Azaz area is effectively managed by the Turkish intelligence MIT, and through it Turkey introduces weapons and equipment into the occupied Syrian territories, and the Bab al-Hawa crossing north of Idlib, and through it, weapons and equipment are entered and managed by the Turkish occupation state, and after the occupation of Afrin in March 2018, it was opened. A crossing in the village of Hammam of Janders district.
As for the west with the Lebanese state, there is the Jadidah Yabous crossing (the Masnaa crossing) in the Governorate of the countryside of Damascus, and it is a main outlet on the Lebanese-Syrian borders, while the rest of the crossings and outlets are al-Arida Crossing - al-Dabbousia crossing - Tal Kalakh crossing - al-Jousiya crossing - Hamra crossing, in addition to tens The irregular outlets along the border with Lebanon are subject to factions loyal to the Damascus government and the Lebanese Hezbollah, according to a statement by Firas Tlass, son of the former Syrian Defense Minister, Mustafa Tlass, in an interview with Al-Arabiya Channel last March.
To the south with Jordan, there is the Nassib International crossing, which was out of the control of the Damascus government forces at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, and was re-controlled on July 6, 2018, and is now managed from the Syrian side by the Damascus government. In addition, there are several illegal outlets from which goods are smuggled to and from Syria-Jordan.
As for the case of the crossings on the eastern side that link Syria and Iraq, the al-Bukamal (al-Qaim) crossing came out from the control of the Damascus government in late 2012, and mid-2013 was subject to the control of ISIS/Daesh mercenaries, and it was opened on September 30, 2019 by the Damascus government, after the liberation of those region from ISIS/ Daesh, and it is effectively subject to the factions loyal to Iran, and as for the al-Tanf crossing, it is under the control of the International Coalition, and as for the Tel Koçer/ al-Yarubiya crossing, which links the areas of NE, Syria and Iraq, it was closed due to Russian veto in 2019, with the aim of preventing aid from reaching the people of the region .
And there is Semalka crossing, which links the areas of NE, Syria with the Kurdistan region, and this crossing is under control of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which receives its directives from the Turkish occupation state, and is closed most of the time to the entry of humanitarian aid.
'Crossings war'
In view of the current situation of the border crossings in Syria, Turkey, Russia, and the Damascus government, which closed the crossings connecting their regions and the areas of the Autonomous Administration in Northern and Eastern Syria about a month ago, are trying to besiege the people of the region by all means and methods, and foiling the democratic project adopted by the people of the region, the project that observers and analysts see it as the best solution to the Syrian crisis, which is worsening day by day.
Observers also believe that the policy pursued by the Damascus government, Russia and Turkey is harmonious among themselves, as Russia is trying now, by proposing a project to open outlets between the occupied areas and the areas of the Damascus government, to alleviate the repercussions of the Caesar Law on the latter, and to revive it economically.
T/S
ANHA
