Turkey will complete the construction of a 900-km (560-mile) wall along the Syrian border within 5 months, an official at a Turkish state institution has revealed. By the end of February, the country seeks to complete the construction of a 3m (10ft) high and 2m (6.5ft) wide concrete wall made up of seven-tonne portable blocks topped with razor wire.
While construction of the wall is primarily a result of Turkish concerns with the presence of Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, and in response to pressure from NATO allies to seal off the border with Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria, construction of the border wall also aims to combat smuggling and illegal migration into Turkey.
The construction began early in 2014, to stop illegal crossings along the length of 900km (560-mile) border even as Turkey maintained an open-border policy that has seen nearly 3 million Syrians seek refuge in the country.
Estimated costs for the construction were not informed. Notwithstanding, mass media vehicles have speculated the total cost of the wall to be around 2 billion lira ($672 million).
Photo credits: REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
