Turkey opens new customs gate to Syria’s Afrin

ONLY a few months after clearing the Syrian wing of the terrorist PKK out of the area, the Turkish government has opened a new customs gate to Syria’s Afrin to facilitate commercial and humanitarian links to civilians in the wider region.

TURKEY has opened a new customs gate along the Turkish-Syrian to speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid in the war-torn country, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan announced Friday.

“The Olive Branch Customs Gate crossing to northwestern Syria’s Afrin opened on Nov. 8,” Pekcan told Parliament’s planning and budget commission.

The new customs gate was named after Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch, which was launched on Jan. 20 to free Afrin of the PKK-linked People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Daesh terrorists.

On March 18, Turkish and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces liberated the Afrin district center.

Turkey’s Customs and Trade Ministry and the Hatay Governor’s office had previously announced that they have agreed on opening the gate near the village of Hamam in Kumlu district.

The village is located near the town of Jandaris in Afrin.

The Turkish authorities stepped up humanitarian efforts in Afrin after it was liberated from the YPG terrorists.

In April, then Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci had said that the gate would speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afrin and meet the region’s infrastructure needs.

Tüfenkci had also noted the contribution it would make to the promotion of trade in the region.