The Islamic State is still seeping through the Syria-Turkey border. (
AlMonitor).
The roads from Kilis to Jarablus and Al Rai have been the scenes of some
strange events over the past few years. The government, under pressure
to control the militants' border access, has been erecting walls at key crossing points. The measures have caused some reduction in this traffic, but not stopped it entirely.
Reading the logs, one
gets the impression that the border is sealed against illegal crossings.
If you ask the Ankara government, no other country does as much to
combat IS as Turkey.
The reality is that the border is not sealed, nor
is it truly open.
Selim Bayturkmen, who publishes a local newspaper in Kilis, told Al-Monitor that there are fewer
crossings than before, although entries via the villages of Cildiroba and Besiriye continue.
A local source involved in transportation in Elbeyli told
Al-Monitor, “There aren’t all that many measures the government is
boasting about. Up until six months ago, 2,000-3,000 people used to
cross the border daily in both
directions. It was a beehive of activity with buses and minibuses
forming long lines. Those vehicles are engaged only in bringing people
from the Kilis bus terminal to Elbeyli to sneak into Syria. A ditch was
dug and a wall is going up. Crossings have declined, but not ended. They
take place mainly in the evenings, particularly from the villages of Arpakesmez, Akinci and Inanli. I can’t give you an exact figure but we have daily traffic of 200 to 400 people.”
“Human traffickers are not under pressure.
I haven’t heard of anyone
detained for smuggling people. There is much money in this business.
Smugglers have houses right on the border. They charge $100 to $300 per
person to cross over. At nights they pay a noncommissioned
officer $2,000 to $2,500 to look the other way for 15 minutes. Imagine
how much money they must be making. All the border villages got involved
in this business and many people have become rich.”
Reminded that the Turkish Armed Forces' website reporting the daily
capture of IS militants gives the impression that there is no tolerance
whatsoever at the border, Togrul replied, “Do you know how long they are
detained? We are told they are apprehended, but most of them are
quickly released.
Their organization in Gaziantep is not a secret. They
operate in broad daylight. Many nongovernmental organizations in side
streets are actually IS fronts. [The Justice
and Development Party's] struggle against IS is not sincere. The local
administration is not honest either. They don’t consider IS militants
terrorists.
Also, this human trafficking has become a lucrative source
of income for our border villagers. We know that in the 98-kilometer gap
they provide crossing services for IS and earn big-time money.”
Hmmm...........Never Trust a Turk on his word. Read the full story
here.
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