Turkish troop deployments in Idlib prompt trade revival

IDLIB, Syria

Syria’s northwestern Idlib province is experiencing an economic recovery as a result of recent Turkish military deployments in the area, which have led to the removal of commercial restrictions at a strategic border crossing.

In early August, Turkish authorities imposed restrictions on vehicles traversing the country's Cilvegozu border crossing -- which links Idlib to Turkey’s southern Hatay province -- for security reasons, limiting cross-border traffic to shipments of humanitarian aid.

Following the deployment of Turkish troops to Idlib in mid-October, however, the Turkish authorities reversed the restrictions.

Since then, the crossing has seen a dramatic uptick in traffic, with numerous commercial vehicles -- bearing construction materials, electronic goods and foodstuffs -- crossing from Turkey into Syria.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sajid Abu Firas -- director of the Syrian side of the crossing (Bab al-Hawa) -- said the recent Turkish military deployments would serve to “guarantee stability throughout the region”.

Roughly 300 commercial vehicles are now passing daily through the crossing into Syria, said Abu Firas, adding that the reversal of earlier restrictions -- which has allowed the import of badly-needed construction materials -- had contributed to a commercial revival in Idlib.

"Construction activity in the region has increased by about 40 percent," Mohamed Waqas, a local merchant in Idlib, told Anadolu Agency.

What’s more, Waqas said, airstrikes and artillery shelling had largely stopped in the area following the Turkish military deployments.

Syria has just begun to emerge from a devastating civil war that began in when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Reporting by Burak Karacaoglu and Ashraf Musa; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat