Turkey reopens main border crossing with Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkey reopened on Wednesday a main border crossing with Syria in order to calm down the unrest in areas under its control in northwest Syria, a source within the Syrian opposition said.
The opposition figure said Turkey seems to be understanding that its enemies in Syria, especially Kurds, will benefit if Turkey continues to put pressure on people in northern Syria, The National reported.
Moreover, the administration of Bab al-Hawa border crossing in Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria said that trucks and passengers resumed movement.
Turkey had closed two main passenger and trade border crossings of Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salama, in addition to other smaller ones after Turkish forces were attacked by residents in northwest Syria in response to attacks against Syrians in Turkey.
Recent incidents in Turkey were sparked by social media reports that said a Syrian man had sexually abused a female child in the city of Kayseri, which led to attacks against Syrians and destruction of their properties.
Many Syrians protested in multiple towns in northwest Syria, which Turkey has occupied and stationed thousands of troops, in condemnation of the attacks against Syrian refugees in Kayseri.
Intense clashes occurred between protesters and Turkish forces in the city of Afrin where they opened fire and killed at least five people and injured 25 others.
Bab al-Hawa is one of four border crossings between Turkey and areas under its control in Syria that have been closed this week.
Other crossings located between Turkey and areas run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) have been shut for years.
Bab al-Hawa is run by the Salvation Government, which is the political wing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front).
Turkey is the primary provider of goods to areas under the control of HTS and Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA).