Iraq
Al-Waleed links Anbar province with Syria’s Al-Tanf crossing in Homs province and is one of four official border points between the two countries.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is preparing to reopen the al-Waleed border crossing with Syria more than a decade after it was closed, an official in western Anbar province told Rudaw.
“Work will begin at the al-Waleed crossing in order to reopen it, after it was closed during the war against Daesh [Islamic State, ISIS],” said Saad Ghazi, head of the security committee at the Anbar Provincial Council.
Al-Waleed, located close to where the borders of Iraq, Syria, and Jordan meet, links Anbar province with Syria’s al-Tanf in Homs province and is one of four official border points between the two countries. It was closed in 2014.
Rehabilitating the crossing is expected to take around four months before it is ready to reopen to civilian traffic, Mujaheed al-Dulaimi, mayor of the Waleed sub-district, told Rudaw.
Necessary work includes clearing rubble and rebuilding government facilities destroyed during military operations against ISIS, he added.
Iraq shares a 618-kilometer border with Syria. Two years ago, Baghdad began constructing a three-meter-high concrete wall along the frontier, supported by barriers, deep trenches, and watchtowers.
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