ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi border guards continue to strengthen the country’s borders with Syria to prevent infiltration, including through the construction of a concrete wall along the frontier.
Iraq's first military concrete wall construction factory is located in Rabia subdistrict, which borders Syria.
Avdal Shamo is one of the soldiers working at the factory. He and most of the people of Shingal have experienced great sorrows and major sufferings at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS), which crossed into their areas through the Syrian border. Therefore, he has been working non-stop at this workshop for two years to strengthen the Syrian border.
"These [walls] contribute to security and block the path for them [infiltrators]. We are happy with the situation in Shingal. We want the situation in Iraq in general to be stable, not just that of Shingal, but since we live in Shingal we focus on it," he told Rudaw.
Iraq shares a 620-kilometre border with Syria. Two years ago, the government began constructing a three-meter-high concrete wall along the frontier. So far, the entire stretch from the Rabia sub-district to near al-Qaim has been completed. The Iraqi government has stated that it does not plan to stop until the entire border along Syria is walled off.
Yaser Hassan al-Tamimi, Commander of the 6th Division of Nineveh Border Guards, said they have so far constructed a 250-kilometre wall along the Syrian border.
"Beyond the wall, there is also a trench and a wire fence, in addition to a border barrier, forming an integrated defensive system. The wall also contains gates for monitoring the defensive facilities, which include the trench and the border barrier."
So far, the construction of 250 kilometres of the wall has cost Iraq 30 billion dinars ($22.9 million). In addition to the concrete barrier, the entire border is also monitored using advanced surveillance cameras.
Nasir Ali contributed to this article.
