The Akcakale crossing had been closed to commercial and civilian traffic since 2014 due to internal conflicts in Syria.

On Tuesday, the Akcakale border crossing in southeast Türkiye’s Sanliurfa province reopened, ending a 12-year closure. The crossing sits directly across from the town of Tal Abyad in northern Syria.

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Activity was high from the early morning hours, with passport checks underway at booths and security measures at the highest level. Over the last 12 years, the Akcakale Border Crossing had remained largely because of the conflict and instability caused by the Syrian civil war.

Turkey shut the crossing in 2014 after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) took control of the nearby Syrian town of Tal Abyad following the defeat of the Islamic State militants in the area. Turkish authorities considered the SDF a security threat because of its alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Security concerns along the Turkey-Syria border also played a major role in keeping the crossing closed to civilians. During the war, northern Syria experienced battles involving ISIS militants, Kurdish fighters, and Turkish military operations. Ankara feared that an open crossing could facilitate militant movement, arms smuggling and broader instability near its southern frontier.

Although the crossing partially reopened in 2019 for limited purposes — including trade, humanitarian aid, funerals and official government travel — civilian crossings remained suspended.

The crossing only reopened fully after conditions in the region began to stabilize and relations between Turkey and Syria’s new leadership started to normalize.

Turkish officials said the decision was linked to the “normalization of life in the region” and new administrative arrangements on the Syrian side of the border.

The reopening is part of a broader effort to restore diplomatic and economic ties between the two neighboring countries after more than a decade of war and political tension.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: Xinhua – Turkish Minute – Türkiye Today

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