Turkey has begun building a “security wall” along part of its border with Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat), regional officials said Tuesday, in a move aimed at stopping Kurdish guerillas.
Pictures showing huge concrete blocks being moved into place were published on the governor’s website for Agri province in Turkish Kurdistan (Bakur).
Turkish authorities announced construction of a 144-kilometres long barrier in May as a means of blocking cross-border movements by members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The entire Turkish-Iranian frontier is around 500 kilometers long.
On the diplomatic front, Turkey has been involved in co-sponsoring talks on a Syria peace deal held in Kazakhstan’s capital with Iran and Russia. To beef up security on its Syrian border, Turkey began constructing a similar wall two years ago. In June, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said 690 kilometres out of a planned 828 kilometres of the wall had been completed along the frontier with Rojava and northern Syria.
He added that further border security measures would be put in place once the construction had been completed.
In June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country plans to build walls along its borders with Iraqi Kurdistan and Iranian Kurdistan, similar to the one currently being erected along the frontier with Syrian Kurdistan.
Sources: AFP, Ekurd.net
Edited by Rojhelat.info