Turkey plans to expand border wall along entire 295-km Iran frontier

The Turkish government has expanded its plans to build a concrete wall along the Iranian border to cover the entirety of the 295-kilometer frontier, Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said on July 27. So far, only 3.5 kilometers of the structure have been completed, Bilmez said.

Tuesday July 27 2021 05:24 pm

Duvar English

The Turkish government has expanded its plans to build a concrete wall along the Iranian border to cover the entirety of the 295-kilometer frontier, Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said on July 27.

Only 3.5 kilometers of the monstrous construct have been completed so far, Bilmez said, adding that work was ongoing on the remainder.

"We are predicting that 64 kilometers of the [wall] construction will be completed by the end of this year. But there is another tender in process for another 63-kilometer part. We are expecting the tender to be held within this year. A wall will be built along our entire 295-km border [with Iran] in the upcoming years," Bilmez said.

Ankara's rhetoric is that it aims to make the country "impenetrable" with the concrete wall, accompanied by trenches and watchtowers.

Van is often a stop for migrants trying to cross over to Europe from the Middle East, most recently the destination of Afghan migrants fleeing their homeland to avoid violent clashes between state forces and the Taliban.

The European Union recently said that it was considering allocating a new financial aid package to Afghanistan and neighboring countries to stifle immigration into the EU.

Ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline set by U.S. President Joe Biden to withdraw U.S. troops from the country, the Taliban have seized swaths of the Afghan countryside and are threatening some cities. Civilian casualties surged in the first half of the year, according to a UN report.