Iraqi government to build wall on Iraqi-Syrian border
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – On Sunday, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a budget for building a concrete wall along the border with Syria.
The Iraqi government has approved the allocation of nearly $11.6 million to connect the existing section of the wall in the Sharji al-Rawi area, south of Tel Safouk, on the Syrian side.
According to the names of the villages mentioned in the government statement regarding the project, the wall extends from the southern part of the Sinjar District in Nineveh Governorate, or its Syrian counterpart, the Tel Safouk town, for a distance of 50 kilometers.
Iraq shares a border of over 600 kilometers with Syria, stretching from the Rukban area on the Syrian-Jordanian border to the Semalka-Faysh Khabur border crossing with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The northern area of the Iraqi-Syrian border falls within the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) on the Syrian side.
For several years, the Iraqi government has been actively engaged in securing its border with Syria in order to prevent the infiltration of Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists into Iraq. Measures taken include the construction of earthen berms, trenches, and the installation of thermal cameras.