Caretaker PM Al-Sudani directs forces to tighten border security
Shafaq News– Nineveh
On Wednesday, Iraq’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani instructed forces deployed along the border to maintain readiness and operational efficiency, following days of deadly clashes between Syrian government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
According to a statement from the PM’s office, Al-Sudani chaired a meeting at the Border Guards Command headquarters in Sinjar of Nineveh province, which shares about 285 kilometers with Syria, where he received a detailed security briefing, covering troop deployments, readiness levels, joint coordination to strengthen security plans, and the operation of surveillance systems.
The caretaker PM “reaffirmed support for the forces deployed along the borders through the provision of equipment and logistical requirements to enhance their operational capabilities,” the statement added.
Earlier today, Al-Sudani arrived at Ain Al-Asad Air Base in western Al-Anbar at the start of his field tour to assess the readiness of forces securing the Iraq–Syria border. He also visited the Iraqi-Syrian border area in Al-Qaim as part of the same inspection mission covering Al-Anbar and Nineveh.
Read more: Al-Anbar: Iraq’s frontline province after Ainal-Asad military handover
According to a separate statement, Al-Sudani directed the relevant authorities to “implement the border security barrier using fortifications unprecedented in Iraq’s history,” noting that Iraq now possesses a robust line of defense, supported by exceptional measures implemented by the Ministry of Interior over the past period.
Iraqi authorities have reinforced the roughly 600-kilometer border with Syria in recent months to hold the frontier, curb smuggling, and prevent the reemergence of ISIS fighters, after the US-led Coalition withdrawal from the country.
On January 20, Al-Sudani issued a series of directives to deal with any attempts to undermine security along the shared frontier and to fully support Kurdistan Region border guard forces, as the fighting in Syria later extended to prisons holding members of ISIS, such as Al-Hol camp in Hasakah, which holds ISIS families, including at least 3,000 Iraqi Nationals. A site is currently considered “a restricted zone.”
Read more: Syria’s calm: An end to threat or a start of a complex security phase for Iraq?
