Facilities for foreign fighters smuggling out of Idlib into Turkey, while HTS and Turkey turning a blind eye

The Syrian Observatory has monitored smuggling of families of Turkestan fighters and foreigners from Syria to Turkey. The border areas are witnessing a tightening of security by the Turkish border guards “Jandarma” along the border with the Iskenderun region, for fear of smuggling Syrians into Turkey, while turning a blind eye to several places to allow foreign fighters and their families to cross.

On the other hand, SOHR sources have reported that fighters and their families are being smuggled from areas near Azmarin, where they cross the Asi river by water ferries through a Syrian person who is involved in human smuggling. The rest of the smugglers cannot cross the border due to the strengthening of security measures in the rest of the region.

HTS border-crossing offices have also suspended the granting of transit, thereby halting all smuggling operations, while fighters and their families are being smuggled before the eyes of HTS and its border security sector.

Moreover, the areas of Idlib and the surrounding rural have been witnessing a decrease in the number of migrants and their families since the beginning of this year, as fighters of the “National Army” factions and Turkish-backed factions are sent to Libya to fight.