Iraq to build a wall along the border with Syria 

The Iraqi army today announced its intention to build a concrete wall and a military barrier along the country’s border with Syria.

A statement by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Operations, Lieutenant-General Qais Al-Muhammadawi, said “The Joint Border Command exerted tremendous efforts, under the supervision of the Army’s Chief of Staff for two years to secure the borders, especially the western ones with Syria,” noting that “the security systems there are much better than before, whether in regard of the administrative, fortifications, or monitoring aspects , as well as  what is related to drones, balloons and thermal cameras.”

“There is an intention to build a wall on the border, but the existing fortifications provide the necessary security,” he added, noting that “there is work to establish a front line from the army forces only on the border to secure and fortify the border areas.”

The concrete wall is set to extend along the border with Syria and will be reinforced with a barrier wall made up of units of the Iraqi army instead of the Border Guard forces of the Ministry of Interior, according to previous statements by Iraqi military leaders.

Forces from the Ministry of Interior, known as the Border Guard, are responsible for securing the borders between Iraq and its neighbours.

Controlling the border with Syria is one of the biggest challenges facing Iraqi forces due to the length of the border, which is over 1,000 kilometres, and the lack of the border guards’ capabilities.

Iraqi security forces have arrested hundreds of Daesh militants as they tried to enter the country.

READ: Iraq calls on Western countries to extradite their citizens from Syria