Turkey limits border traffic at Syria crossing: customs minister

Turkey will limit the movement of non-humanitarian goods at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Syria because the Syrian side is controlled by a "terrorist organization", Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkçi said on Thursday.

Last month, Hayat Tahrir al Sham, a Syrian opposition group, took control of the border area and most of Idlib province in several days of heavy fighting with its main rival, Ahrar al-Sham.

"Until that group's control ends, or at least weakens, there will be tight control and slowing down of the passage of all products other than humanitarian aid and food," Tüfenkçi told Turkey's NTV channel.

"We have no imports from Syria, we only export. Therefore, we don't have any issues in that sense," he said, adding that the issue could be resolved in the next two weeks.