Poor weather | Man and woman die in Iskenderun Region, after crossing Al-Asi river from Idlib countryside

A man and a woman were found dead in Turkish territory a few days after they had crossed Al-Asi river, which is considered the border strip between Turkey’s Iskenderun Region and Syria’s Azmarin in Salqin countryside in north-western Idlib. According to local sources, the two persons died of cold and heavy rain.

 

It is worth noting that the water level in Al-Asi river noticeably rose in the past few hours, after the opening of Qastoun Dam in Sahl Al-Ghab as well as the heavy rain which flooded the routes used by civilians to smuggle themselves to Turkey.

 

Although Turkey has tightened border security measures, people are still trying to reach Turkey illegally, through local smugglers, often from villages and towns adjacent to Turkish territory, as they know every detail of the routes and geography of the region .

 

In recent years, a high number of sniping and killings of Syrians by the Turkish border guards “Jandarma” has reported, of those fleeing the horrors of war and decided to enter Turkish territory through smugglers, ignoring the roads’ hazards and difficulties, the majority of which have become monitored by thermal seeking surveillance and snipers, dozens of military patrols and the huge concrete wall built on the border.

 

Moreover, many people fleeing the scourge of war are being defrauded by greedy smugglers; those people tend to borrow  large sums of money from their relatives or selling their properties to pay for the smugglers’ services.