Turkey reopens key border crossing with Syria

KILIS, Turkey

Turkey's southeastern border gate with Syria reopened after an eight-year hiatus.

As of Tuesday, Turkish trucks will be able to cross the Oncupinar border gate in the province of Kilis after showing relevant travel documents to custom officials.

The border gate was closed in 2011 when civil war broke out in Syria.

Turkish trucks had to stop at the border gate and transfer their goods to Syrian trucks.

According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency, 50 trucks crossed to Syria through the gate in the last few hours.

Serdar Tohumcu, a truck driver, said the reopening the gate has reduced travel time.

"When I used the Cobanbey customs gate in southeastern Turkey, it took four hours to reach Syria’s Azaz province, but now it takes only 15 minutes via Oncupinar," Tohumcu said.

Writing by Faruk Zorlu