Iraq intends to put the Rabia and Al-Waleed border crossings with Syria back into operation in the coming days. This was announced on Monday by the head of the Iraqi Border Authority, Omar al-Waeli, according to state media. Al-Waeli stated that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has ordered the swift reopening of the two crossings.
The objective is to increase trade volume and make greater use of the routes within the framework of the infrastructure and logistics project “Development Road,” which aims to enhance Iraq’s geostrategic position as a link between East and West. Al-Waeli said the reopening would positively impact state revenues and boost both goods transport and transit traffic through Iraq.
With Rabia and Al-Waleed, two of the three official border crossings between the two countries will thus become operational again. The third crossing, Al-Qaim opposite Al-Bukamal in eastern Syria, had been reopened in June last year following joint security assessments by Iraqi and Syrian authorities.
The current decision comes amid shifting dynamics along the border. In January, the self-declared transitional government in Damascus took control of the Syrian side of the crossing during a large-scale offensive against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the border town of Til Koçer (al-Yarubiyah).
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