Turkey's border closures threaten north-west Syria with disaster

When civilians in northwest Syria hit the streets to protest against the xenophobic attacks carried out against Syrian refugees in central Turkey's Kayseri on 1 July, they didn't pause to consider the possible consequences, namely, the closure of the sole border crossings into the territory.

Turkish flags were torn down from streets and service facilities across northwest Syria as demonstrators hurled stones at Turkish security and army vehicles, outraged at the violence meted out to Syrians in Turkey.

In response to the protests, which saw attempts to storm the border crossings, attacks on trucks, and clashes with Turkish border staff, Turkey announced the closure until further notice of the Bab al-Salama, Al-Rai, and Jarabulus crossings into northern Aleppo, and the Bab Al-Hawa crossing into Idlib.

Sealed off from the world

The closures impacted everything, as the crossings which join northwest Syria and the Turkish state are the only entry points into the region, not just for humanitarian aid to residents, at least 90 percent of whom live below the poverty line, but also for agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial products, without them having to pass through Syrian regime-held areas.

As soon as Turkey announced the closure, Ayman Al Khalidi, a resident of Dana city in northern Idlib, rushed to buy bags of flour and other basics, fearful the closure could continue and necessities would become scarce, meaning a rise in prices.

Khalidi says the crossings with Turkey are the only entry point for flour and other basic goods after the blockade of the region by the Syrian regime and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), leaving the Turkish side the region's sole import and export route. Closing the crossings for an extended period will inevitably lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and starvation, he fears.

Activist Ghassan Al Yousef, who lives in Afrin, took part in the protests. He says he was outraged by scenes he saw on social media of what Turkish mobs in Kayseri did to Syrian refugees, following allegations that a Syrian man had sexually abused a seven-year-old Syrian girl.

Northwest Syria: Serving Turkey's interests

Yousef asks whether this is how alleged crimes are solved in the country, or whether, as he believes, it was a pretext to intimidate Syrians and push them to leave Turkish territory.

He adds that the region has become a base for Turkish troops as well as a means for the Turkish government to apply pressure on Russia and the SDF.

The Turks have raised their flag and roam freely around the northwest after recruiting opposition factions to serve their interests, Yousef says, adding that such recruits have been transformed into mercenaries in exchange for a handful of dollars.

He is referencing the participation of fighters from the Syrian National Army (SNA), which includes several opposition factions, in Turkey's foreign interests abroad, notably in Libya, Yemen, and Azerbaijan.

In Turkey itself, racist violence against Syrian refugees has soared in recent years, with many being subjected to forcible and systematic deportations.

"There's a huge injustice being done to us Syrians, and we can't remain silent any longer and ignore all these practises, and maybe the protests that happened are a small fraction of the fire of rage that has started consuming us in the face of all this injustice and humiliation," Yousef says.

Teacher Fadwa Hajj Hussein was forcibly deported from Turkey with her children after being arrested and dropped off at the Syria-Turkey border, accused of not having a temporary protection ID card, which grants Syrian refugees certain legal protections and entitlements.

She says Syrian refugees in Turkey aren't treated with humanity or dignity and they spend their time afraid and in hiding.

"And now they are casting us back into the Syrian regions and leaving us vulnerable to war, bombs, starvation, and loss," Hussein says.

"Turkey has started improving its relationship with the Syrian regime in preparation for returning us to the arms of our torturer, who has killed, destroyed, arrested, and violated human rights in Syria to a huge degree, in full view of the international community, who has begun to normalise its relations with him, forgetting all the tragedies, injustices and injury we have been through."

A humanitarian catastrophe

Economy minister for the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), Abdul Hakim Al-Masri, stressed that the impact of border closures on northwest Syria would be huge, given that they are the sole entry point for vital imports not produced locally.

These include rice, sugar, vegetable oil, cooking fat, medicines, construction materials, animal feed, and other materials used in local manufacturing.

This will drastically affect civilians who would be left reliant on domestically produced products, especially agricultural, which would be scarce. "Imagine how it will be with a region which has suffered poverty and war for years, where there is no oil, and whose resources are limited," Masri says.

The minister, however, predicted that the crossings wouldn't be closed for long; not because of Turkey's sympathy for the region, but because it has interests it wishes to pursue.

Besides the benefits Turkey gains from its influence over the region with regards to its security interests, and the removal of the SDF from its borders, it also gains economically because it considers northwest Syria a market for its products, he states.

Economist Hayan Hababa says the negative impacts of the border closure will not only be a humanitarian crisis and possible famine for inhabitants, but it will also devastate industry and all aspects of life in north Syria, as the crossings with Turkey are the only way in and out of the region due to the siege on the territory.

Investment projects in the region will falter and stop, Hababa says, and unemployment, which already exceeds 86 percent, will increase.  

Between Ankara and Assad

Hababa says civilians in the northwest will face one of two scenarios if the border crossings close for an extended period. The first is that severe hunger and the spread of disease will start to escalate, possibly resulting in widespread starvation. The second scenario is that crossings will be opened with regime-held and SDF-held areas - controlled by their militias - to bring in and substitute what has been lost.

This scenario would see dependence on these militias develop as they take control over the region's markets and start deciding the prices of goods, whether local or imported. Prices would multiply, with the consumer bearing the brunt, says Hababa, because the traders' primary goal is profit.

Although the crossings were partially reopened in recent days, civilians in northwest Syria have become acutely aware of complications which could arise if they are closed again. They feel as though they are caught between the Syrian regime and Ankara, who they are dependent on and which is marching towards normalisation with Assad.

This will likely herald disaster for them. Either residents try to stand against Ankara's policy and its normalisation of relations with the Assad regime - which has killed and displaced thousands - or they accept it, which means returning to the arms of their torturer.

Hadia Al Mansour is a freelance journalist from Syria who has written for Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Monitor, SyriaUntold, and Rising for Freedom Magazine.

Article translated from Arabic by Rose Chacko