(Zaman Al Wasl)- Even though many dangers and possibility of dying while trying to reach a better life in order to escape the hell of bombardment and poverty, the attempts to enter Syrian territory through smuggling routes continues.
Many people call this a suicidal act, but others wish to die several times with every failed attempt.
The efforts to enter Turkey are increasing after every displacement from inside to northern Syria, where the Syrians are trying to cross into Turkey as it as a safer.
Several networks and groups in the region are working to smuggle people across the Turkish border, while Turkish authorities and border guards have putted up an isolated wall to stop smuggling.
A source inside the Turkish border told Zaman al-Wasl that, the Turkish gendarmerie found on Saturday eight Syrians bodies, including women and children, near the border with Syria.
The source said that the Syrian victims have died as a result of the severe cold after they lost the road while trying to enter the Turkish territory through illegal routes near the town of Kherbet Eljoz near the Turkish border.
One of Kherbet Eljoz residents said that the victims did not go out of the way, but the smuggler they agreed with asked them to wait in the place and no longer took their money. He point out that some smugglers kill the victims and steal their money and gold.
Zaman al-Wasl was able to identify one of the victims, a girl from the city of Kafranbel, who lost three days ago after leaving for Turkey to meet with her fiancé, but she died with seven other civilians, in the border area.
In a related context, Turkish border guards found on Monday evening three bodies of a man and two women were killed by the cold in the farmland. Two links were attached to two personal cards of the women from Aleppo, while the identity of the man remained unknown. They were transferred to the university hospital in Turkey.
With the tighter security on the Turkish border it is difficult to escape and enter the Turkish territory, but human smugglers becomes more able to exploit these situations and then began to organize themselves as large gangs that control a large part of the Syrian-Turkish border.
"I was forced to enter Turkish territory after I displaced from al-Ghouta. I searched for a smuggler to help me, and then he asked me for $ 600 from a road that was opened on the day. I did not expect that I would cross that day, where the road from the village of "Kherbet Eljoz" across Nahr Al Asi” said Dhia, who is one of the displaced to northern Syria.
He explained that they were about 150 people (including women and children) and the water flooded their bodies to the top of their stomach. He pointed out that the road was revealed after, and 70 people were arrested.
Methods of smuggling
According to smugglers’ promises on how to secure transit routes, there are 3 main roads, the night road, the night road and the fog road.
For the day-trip it is the most expensive because it is in the daytime and does not need to walk.
The smuggler tells people that he has permission to enter the Turkish territory and there is often agreement with the Border Guard point who take half the amount and cost between $1800 and $2500 fro each.
The operation is not done daily, but according to Turkish border guards and times of guarding them.
The night road is the common road used by most smugglers because it is carried out on a daily basis. The smuggling process takes place at night and it is on foot. The walking time varies from 6 to 8 hours, and the roads are rugged and between mountains and mud.
The third way is the fog road at certain times of the year via the Asi River. The smuggler idea is that people will wait for the foggy atmosphere and then cross the Asi River from Syria to Turkey by 20 meters, as they wouldn’t be easily seen and it cost between $1000 to $1500.
For his part, Abdul Rahman who is a smuggler in the area of "Darkouch" revealed about the cost of smuggling to Zaman al-Wasl. “There is a way to smuggle a three-hour traffic and climb the border wall at a cost of $ 600 and then to the city of .Antakya
I took with me 10 people from this road. Two groups were arrested” said Abdul Rahman.
Smuggling roads cost between $1600- $3,000.
The arrested ones during the crossing attempts are beaten and returned to Syrian territory, and there are some cases are shot in the air and sometimes directly to the refugees if the smuggling at night.
The smuggling is dangerous and risky. Death cases have been reported for people fleeing across the border.
Zaman al-Wasl published a document confirming the responsibility of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) for most of the human smuggling operations, as the organization imposes tax on every smuggled person.
The document issued by the HTS provides its elements with a set of orders and defines the nature of the smuggling work or what it calls "border security".
Zaman Al Wasl
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