ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Border Guard Command confirmed on Monday that the construction of a border wall with Syria is being carried out under their supervision, countering media reports from northeast Syria (Rojava) that attributed the project to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Brigadier General Haider al-Karkhi, media director for Iraq’s Border Guard Command, told Rudaw that “the construction of the concrete wall along the Syria border is being executed under the supervision of the Border Guard Forces Command.”
He added that the effort aims to “fortify the entire border triangle between Iraq, Turkey, and Syria - from the Rabia crossing to Fishkhabur, west of the Kurdistan Region.”
Karkhi emphasized that while there is “full coordination” with the KRG regarding the wall’s construction and border monitoring operations with Turkey and parts of the Syrian border, the initiative is a federal government effort.
The clarification follows recent reports from some Rojava media outlets claiming the KRG was building a three-meter-high, 75-centimeter-thick wall along the border between the Kurdistan Region and Rojava.
Following the December collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Baghdad increased efforts to secure its 618-kilometer border with Syria amid concerns over potential instability and infiltration by Islamic State (ISIS) militants and sleeper cells.
Consequently, Iraqi authorities closed key border crossings with Syria in early December.
The wall’s construction - which reportedly reached 400 kilometers by early 2025 - includes concrete barriers, deep trenches, and watchtowers, designed to prevent infiltration.
As of mid-September, the Border Guard Command reported that nearly 99 percent of the borders are monitored by surveillance cameras, with drones conducting daily patrols of fortified sections.
These security measures also target illicit cross-border trade, particularly the smuggling of drugs like Captagon, an issue that predates the Assad regime’s fall.
In addition to its 618 kilometers of border with Syria, Iraq shares 335 kilometers with Turkey and approximately 1,420 kilometers with Iran.