Politics

Kurdistan-northeast Syria border crossing to open soon: sources

Several sources say the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has decided to reopen the Faysh Khabur border crossing after protests on the northeast Syrian side ended.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/01/23 20:24

Faysh Khabur border crossing between Kurdistan Region and north-east Syria. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP)

Middle East Syria Rojava Kurdistan SDF AANES Erbil PKK

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Semalka-Faysh Khabur border crossing between the Kurdistan Region and northeast Syria will be reopened soon, sources say.

Several sources say the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decided to reopen the crossing on Monday after authorities from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria removed protesters in the area on Sunday.

The KRG shut down the Faysh Khabur-Semalka border crossing in December following tensions there.

Lawk Ghafuri, the Head of Foreign Media Relations of the KRG Council of Ministers in a tweet confirmed that the border crossing would "reopen tomorrow for trade."

He added that a full resumption of all activities at the crossing is expected in the "coming days" as AANES authorities deal with tensions on their side of the border.

Protestors in December stormed the AANES side, demanding the KRG hand over the bodies of two Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters. However, the KRG said they do not have the bodies of the dead.

The demonstrators held a sit-in near the border for several days, even until recently, despite demands by the KRG for them to be removed. Confrontations in December led to multiple border guards being injured.

According to a press release by European Union aid organization ECHO, the KRG closed the Faysh Kahbur-Semalka border crossing until further notice for all actors, including NGOs (non-governmental organizations), amid the tensions.

It said there were "clashes between the Revolutionary Youth Union, the youth wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) security forces on Dec. 15."

Nevertheless, the KRG made exceptions to allow humanitarians and Syrians to return to or leave Syria after the closure.

The KRG allowed Syrians in the Kurdistan Region to return on Jan. 6 to return to northeast Syria. Moreover, the KRG allowed holders of Kurdistan Region residency cards and foreign passports stranded in northeast Syria to cross the border on Jan. 19.

The KRG also allowed 36 employees of international organizations to return to Syria on Jan. 7 to continue their humanitarian work, Northpress reported.

The US was negotiating with both sides to reopen the border.