Iraq has reinforced its borders with Syria, following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s government on Sunday.
The Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), leading other groups on Sunday, announced the capture of the capital, Damascus, ending Assad’s over two decades of rule.
According to reports, the country also welcomed over 1,000 Syrian soldiers, who crossed the border in Al Qaim, as Assad himself is said to have fled to an unknown location using a plane.
A senior Iraqi security official told state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Sunday, that the soldiers “requested entry into Iraq through the Al-Qaim border crossing” in Anbar province and “were received and provided with the necessary care”.
“The border is heavily fortified, and there is a presence of the Iraqi Border Forces, in addition to army units and the Popular Mobilization Forces,” Major General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, told INA, playing down the risk of a security spillover.
“The situation on the Iraqi-Syrian border is very good and under the control of the valiant Iraqi units,” he said, adding that it is “supported by technical means such as thermal cameras and specialized equipment.
The toppling of Assad’s government has however left open a possibility of a leadership tussle between the rebel groups.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan revealed that it is in touch with rebels in Syria to make sure that “terrorist organisations” are not “taking advantage” of the situation.
He named the Islamic State and the PKK, a Kurdish militant organisation, as the groups Turkey is concerned about.
“We have to be watchful during this transition period,” Fidan said at the Doha Forum in Qatar.
He added that “any possible chemical weapons inventory or related materials must be secured” and that a new government body should be “inclusive of all parties,” according to the Reuters news agency.
One Thousand Syrian Soldiers Flee To Iraq After Fall Of Assad’s Regime is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
