‘Border Eagles’ protect Turkey-Syria boundary with domestic equipment

Turkish soldiers stationed on Türkiye’s longest land border with Syria are keeping watch with domestically produced weapons, equipment and systems to protect the national borders.

Troops affiliated with the first and third Border Regiment Command, covering the provinces of Kilis, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa, keep watch on the borderline 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The “Border Eagles,” who watch the borderline like hawks, actively use state-of-the-art domestic and national weapons and equipment in the fight against terrorism while also preventing illegal crossings and smuggling.

The “DRAGONEYE” Electro-Optical Sensor System produced by Aselsan is the biggest help to the soldiers who are constantly monitoring the border from the watch towers behind the modular concrete walls made of seven-ton blocks, each of which is 3 meters long (9.8 feet) and 2 meters wide.

Forces actively use this device, which has high visibility, detection and diagnosis features day and night, and a motion-sensitive and solar-powered “video trap” device, especially in critical areas.

The “video trap” instantly takes an image and transmits it to the control center if anything passes around it. If a negative situation is detected, the waiting team is dispatched to that point.

Soldiers also use technology to detect tunnels opened to cross the border. The “underground imaging radar,” which is installed on four wheels and can move, detects pits, spaces and tunnels under the ground with electromagnetic waves.

“Sensitive noses,” one of the biggest supporters of the security forces everywhere, also serve alongside the soldiers in border security. Trained dogs of different breeds patrol the border with soldiers. Especially in bad weather conditions, these dogs are used to detect illegal passages thanks to their sensitive noses.

Large parts of Türkiye’s southern border with Syria are occupied by the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian branch, the YPG, which is supported by Türkiye’s NATO ally the United States. Along with YPG terrorists, members of the Daesh terrorist group also try to infiltrate Türkiye’s southern borders to carry out terrorist attacks in the country.

In the face of a new potential migrant wave due to the instability in Afghanistan, Türkiye has also maximized measures on its eastern border since the last year. The beefed-up border measures in Türkiye, which already hosts nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and is a staging post for many migrants trying to reach Europe, began as the Taliban started advancing in Afghanistan and took over Kabul last month.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has urged European countries to take responsibility for any new influx, warning that Türkiye has no intention of becoming “Europe’s migrant storage unit.”

Türkiye has been a key transit point for asylum-seekers attempting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution. Concerns have risen over a possible spike in migrants from Afghanistan, due to the U.S. pullout from the country and the following surge of Taliban attacks. Ankara has made it clear that it will not bear the burden of the migration crises experienced as a result of the decisions of third countries.

Türkiye hosts nearly 5 million refugees, which is more than any country in the world. After the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Türkiye adopted an “open-door policy” for people fleeing the conflict, granting them “temporary protection” status.

Afghans are believed to be the second-largest refugee community in Türkiye after Syrians. Many of the migrants arriving via Iran are heading for Istanbul to find work or passage to another coastal city from which to embark for Europe.