Shafaq News- Nineveh

Iraq will reopen the Rabia border crossing with Syria “within days” after completing rehabilitation works, Border Ports Authority head Omar Al-Waeli said on Tuesday.

Al-Waeli told reporters that the authority will equip yards and weigh stations and deploy all relevant departments at the site, adding that the crossing is expected to boost trade, facilitate transit traffic, and increase state revenues.

Rabia links Nineveh province with Syria’s Al-Yarubiyah crossing in Hasakah and is one of three official Iraq–Syria land border posts, alongside Al-Qaim in Al-Anbar and Al-Waleed in western Iraq. The crossing has been largely closed since 2014 after ISIS seized parts of Nineveh. Although Iraqi forces regained control in 2017, operations did not resume due to lingering security concerns and limited coordination across the border. Syrian government forces recently took control of territory opposite Rabia following the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces under a ceasefire agreement.

Iraq also reopened the Al-Qaim (Abu Kamal) crossing in June 2025, restoring trade and passenger movement after years of closure.