Statement from Syrian national forces and parties on Semalka border crossing

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — National and regional Syrian political parties, including the Syriac Union Party (SUP) of North and East Syria, issued a joint statement this week in which they noted the humanitarian and economic importance of reopening the Semalka Border Crossing which was closed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and demanded its reopening.

More than three weeks after KRG authorities closed Semalka, the only route for the supply of certain basic food items and other goods.

“The closure of this crossing in these sensitive and difficult circumstances increases the human suffering of Syrians, especially with the outbreak of the coronavirus,” read the statment. “It threatens to paralyze many vital sectors at a time when the regions of North and East Syria are still subject to terrorist threats and military, security, and economic pressures from several regional parties hostile to the aspirations of the Syrian people for dignity and freedom.”

“We, as Syrian political parties and national forces, call on the authorities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to reverse their decision and reopen the crossing,” it continued.

“We affirm that the Kurdistan Regional Government and its parliament have positive attitudes towards [alleviating] the human suffering in Syria. We call on it to review its recent decisions in order to serve the principles of good neighborliness, and we call on it to work to support the will of the people of North and East Syria for a free and dignified life.”