Turkey to open ‘Olive Branch’ customs gate for humanitarian aid into Afrin

Preparations have been initiated to open a new customs gate for the passage from Turkey’s Hatay to Syria’s Afrin in order to facilitate and ease the delivery of humanitarian aid to the region. . The gate, which is planned to be opened near the Hamam village in Hatay’s Kumlu district, will be named “Olive Branch” in refence to Turkey’s military campaign in the region.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear terrorist groups from Afrin, northwestern Syria amid growing threats from the region.

On March 18, Turkish-backed troops liberated the town center of Afrin, which had been a major hideout for the YPG/PKK since 2012.

The decision to name this gate as “Olive Branch” will be a clear message to the terror plots in the region and will be remembered for generations.

The gate is planned to be opened near the Hamam village in the Kumlu district of Hatay. The new door will be the second customs gate to be opened in Turkey’s Hatay into Syria, after the Cilvegözü gate. The route of the new customs gate is determined to enter Syria’s Jindaris via Turkey’s Bükülmez and Oglupınar outposts which will reach Afrin. The route is described as the most efficient and safest route both in terms of distance, geographical conditions and the absence of obstacles.

Alternatives routes were not preferred due to their steep, rocky geographical structure and the lengthy period it would take to open them. The Hatay-Reyhanlı road is also short and easily accessible from Turkey’s side of the border, which will allow the gate to be ready for service in a short span of time. The route will pass through the strategically important town of Jindires, it being the second largest residential area after Afrin.

The gate will at first be use to deliver humanitarian aid to Afrin but can be used as the shortest trade route to reach Syria’s Aleppo from Turkey’s Hatay when the Syrian civil war comes to an end. Work has been started by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) to open the gate.