Dubbed the “Turkish Wall” by the local media drawing comparisons to the Great Wall of China, the concrete blocks that straddle the 900-kilometer (559-mile) long border are being patrolled by troops.
The wall encompassing Turkey’s volatile border with its southern neighbor Syria is one of the longest walls in the world. A 77-kilometer section of the 105-kilometer-long wall between Azaz and Jarablus, two previously Daesh-controlled Syrian towns cleared by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), has already been completed. Turkish authorities have announced that the wall will be finished in the first half of 2017.
The concrete blocks, which are each 2 meters wide, 3 meters high and weigh 7 tons, are being installed on a border where Turkey faces the threat of infiltration and attacks by both Daesh and a Syrian-affiliate of the PKK, the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
The wall’s construction was hampered at times by a spillover of violence from Syria, which is engulfed in an ongoing conflict with multiple actors, including forces loyal to Bashar Assad, Daesh and the PYD.
The wall is being built behind minefields, deep ditches, and is being reinforced with barbed wire and steel fences. Soldiers secure the area from watch towers along the wall, while armored military vehicles patrol around the clock.
Military sources say it has already significantly curbed smuggling and “irregular crossings.”
The wall also extends to the country’s border with Iraq, where both Daesh and the PKK have hideouts.
Source:dailysabah.com