Turkey's border security to be boosted by concrete wall

SANLIURFA, Turkey

The Turkish army is continuing work on a concrete wall along the frontier with Syria to maintain the security of its borders.

Turkey shares a 900-kilometer (559 miles) border with Syria, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011.

Abdullah Ciftci, the district governor of Suruc in the southeastern Sanliurfa province, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will erect a 4-km (2.4 miles) leg of the concrete wall west of the Mursitpinar border crossing in Suruc and a one-km (0.621 miles) section east of Mursitpinar.

"Our border will be more secure with this 3.60-meter-high wall with barbed wire," Ciftci said.

He said the wall will help to provide more modern border security with its wires and watchtowers.

"The security of Turkey’s borders became very important due to the presence of the PYD/PKK and Daesh near its border. Tightening border security with Syria has taken on more significance for the security of both our country and the world," Ciftci said.

"Turkey does not occupy the territory of any country. This wall is being erected for our own security as well as the security of neighboring countries," he added.

The Turkish Armed Forces are boosting security on the Turkish side by putting up the concrete walls and, on the Syrian side with coalition air forces, through Operation Euphrates Shield.

Turkish Armed Forces units are erecting the modular walls along the Turkish-Syrian borderline between Suruc, Sanliurfa and Karkamis, Gaziantep.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Operation Euphrates Shield, launched on Aug. 24, aims at improving security, supporting coalition forces, and eliminating the terror threat along Turkey’s border through Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish armor, artillery, and jets.

The operation is in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international treaties and a mandate given to the country’s armed forces by the Turkish parliament in 2014 and extended for another year in September 2015.

Operations by the Turkish Armed Forces, which have been actively fighting Daesh, have significantly contributed to ongoing efforts of the U.S.-backed international coalition against the terror group.

(Reporting By Halil Fidan; Writing by Fatma Bulbul)