Iraq Completes Two-Thirds of Border Wall with Syria Amid Regional Power Shift
The project, which is intended to eliminate any potential security vulnerabilities along the border, is planned for completion by mid-2025.
Jan. 8, 2025
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Security Media Cell chief Major General Tahseen al-Khafaji announced on Wednesday that Iraq has completed nearly 400 kilometers of its planned 615-kilometer concrete border wall with Syria.
The development comes amid noteworthy regional security shifts following recent political changes in Syria.
"The western borders are now fortified," al-Khafaji told Iraq's state news agency INA, stressing that construction work continues on the outstanding sections.
The project, which is intended to eliminate any potential security vulnerabilities along the border, is planned for completion by mid-2025.
The border fortification signifies a coordinated effort between Iraq's Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, Joint Operations Command, and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
These entities have implemented heightened security measures along the Syrian border over the past three years, according to al-Khafaji.
The security chief specified plans to increase military checkpoints in the border region, supported by 24-hour intelligence operations targeting sleeper cells and ongoing aerial surveillance missions.
"We maintain strict control over our side of the Iraqi-Syrian border and will not permit any security breaches into Iraq," al-Khafaji emphasized.
The enhanced border security measures follow the dramatic political transition in Syria, where opposition factions assumed control of Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024, ending decades of Baathist rule and the 53-year Assad family dynasty.
The transition led to the appointment of Mohammed al-Bashir as head of the interim government by new Syrian administrator Ahmed al-Shara, building on al-Bashir's previous leadership experience in Idlib.
