Turkey’s separation wall, a new encroachment of Syrians’ property

Latakia – North-Press Agency

Throughout history, the Syrian-Turkish border has witnessed many crises and problems, it was "the gate of the Ottoman invasion of the Arab world to occupy it, and the gate of its exit and the end of 400 years of invasion, occupation, looting and criminality against the Syrian components."
These borders were redrawn after Sykes-Picot Agreement and World War I, and remained unchanged till the present day, where it played the biggest role in worsening the Syrian situation with renewed Turkish ambitions in this geography, as once it claims to protect civilians and once it claims to fight "terrorism", however, its main objective is clear, to deduct more Syrian territories.

When Turkey started building a 300km concrete wall between Latakia northern countryside and the territories of Liwa al-Iskenderun (Turkish province of Hatay today), under the pretext of preventing smuggling and control the border. Residents of the border villages assert that the Turkish side cut off parts of their orchards and farms adjacent to the border strip.
This year, a video recording showed, bulldozers and vehicles working to build the separation wall beginning from Jabal al-Aqra’a to al-Samra area, crossing large areas of civilian properties.
The residents of the border strip told North-Press that the Turkish encroachments have affected dunums of their land, and they have all the legal evidences that document the robbery of the Turks of these lands.

Many villages and towns adjacent to this strip, most notably the town of Kassab, which is inhabited by the Armenian majority, and which received its share of "terrorism" by jihadi armed groups, as Turkey opened the border for them to reach the coastal countryside of Latakia. Quickly after, the main objective of this breach was revealed, in terms  removing all indications and signs confirming the ownership of Syria to this land.
Since then, the border scheme has been changed and Turkey has started to build its separation wall from Latakia northern countryside through Idlib and Aleppo northern countryside, to Hasakah northern countryside.

Moreover,Turkey uses various means to pass its project in northern Syria in general and Latakia countryside in particular, where mountainous geography and harsh terrain are difficult to delineate and protect.
The current situation in Syria and the preoccupation of Syrian government forces in the war against the armed opposition groups, presented a new opportunity for Turkey to launch its expansion project. On one hand, it shows the world that it closes the border by building this wall to prevent the flow of displaced refugees, while opening it at any time to target the civilian population and safe villages near these borders. It is now happening in the eastern areas of the Euphrates, where these borders have become a gateway to a new military invasion that brings to mind the Ottoman occupation, which has not been forgotten by the local people of these areas.