Syrian truckers fear for jobs as Turkish drivers cross border
Turkish trucks have been entering Syria through the recently opened Bab al-Salam crossing, to the protests of Syrian truckers and shippers.
ALEPPO — Turkey has reopened the Bab al-Salam/Oncupinar border crossing with Syria to Turkish truck traffic, effectively cutting half a workday off some truckers' delivery times. Turkish trucks had not entered Syria through the gate for nearly eight years for security reasons following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
On March 5, Turkish authorities gave trucks laden with goods the green light to cross into Syria's Aleppo province via the Bab al-Salam/Oncupinar crossing. Their cargoes now can be driven through the Syrian area controlled by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA). Previously, once Turkish trucks reached the crossing, their goods were transferred onto Syrian trucks.
Turkey's official news provider, Anadolu Agency, reported that about 50 Turkish trucks crossed the border March 5.
Anadolu quoted a truck driver as saying, “We had [previously] unloaded trucks in the buffer zone to be loaded onto Syrian trucks, but now we cross the border and unload the trucks directly where we need to.”
