| Iraq-Turkey border الحدود العراقية التركية (Arabic) Irak–Türkiye sınırı (Turkish) سنووری عێراق و تورکیا (Kurdish) | |
|---|---|
 Map of the Iraq–Turkey border | |
| Characteristics | |
| Entities |  Iraq Turkey |
| Length | 331 km (206 mi)[1] |
| History | |
| Established | 1926 (Treaty of Ankara (1926)) To establish the border betweenIraq andTurkey |
| Current shape | Active Border betweenIraq andTurkey |
| Treaties | Treaty of Ankara (1926) |
| Notes | The border region is mountainous and predominantly populated byKurds on both sides. Tensions related to Kurdish insurgency persist. |
TheIraq–Turkey border is 331 km (206 mi) in length and runs from thetripoint withSyria in the west to the tripoint withIran in the east.[2]
The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Syria at the confluence ofTigris river andLittle Khabur river. It then follows the latter river eastwards, and then theHezil Suyu river to the north-east. The border then turns eastwards overland via series of irregular lines over mountain crests and small streams, eventually turning southwards to connect to the Hajji Bak (Hacibey Suyu) river. It then follows this river north-eastwards to the Iranian tripoint. The border region is extremely mountainous and is populated almost exclusively byKurds on both sides.
At the start of the 20th century theOttoman Empire controlled what is now Turkey and Iraq.[3] During theFirst World War anArab Revolt, supported by Britain, succeeded in removing the Ottomans from most of the Middle East. As a result of the secret 1916 Anglo-FrenchSykes–Picot Agreement Britain gained control of the Ottoman Vilayets ofMosul,Baghdad andBasra, which it organised into themandate of Iraq in 1920.
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By the 1920Treaty of Sèvres Anatolian Turkey was to be partitioned, with the areas north of the Mosul Vilayet to be included within an autonomous or independent Kurdish state.[3][4] Turkish nationalists were outraged at the treaty, contributing to the outbreak theTurkish War of Independence; the Turkish success in this conflict rendered Sèvres obsolete.[3] By the 1923Treaty of Lausanne Turkey's independence was recognised and a far more generous territorial settlement was agreed upon, albeit at the cost of Turkey formally renouncing any claim to Arab lands.[5] As a provisional measure, the former northern border the Mosul Vilayet was to serve as a frontier between British-controlled Iraq and Turkey, with a more precise delimitation to be agreed upon later.[3]
British and Turkish officials met in 1924 but wereunable to determine a mutually satisfactory border, and the matter was referred to theLeague of Nations.[3] In October 1925 the League proposed a border (the ‘Brussels line’) that was essentially the same as that of the northern limits of the old Mosul Vilayet.[3][6] After further deliberations, the League formally recommend in July 1925 that the Brussels line be utilised, a view endorsed by thePermanent Court of International Justice at the Hague in November 1925.[3] On 5 June 1926 Britain and Turkey signed theTreaty of Ankara, by which both states recognised the Brussels line (with some minor modifications) as the frontier.[3][7] The border was then demarcated on the ground in 1927.[3]
Generally cordial, relations between Iraq and Turkey became strained following theGulf War (1990–91); this resulted in an autonomous Kurdish area being established innorthern Iraq which provided sanctuary for Kurdish guerrillasoperating in the south-east Turkey.[8] Since then Turkey has conducted numerous military incursions across the border in a bid to counter what it sees as Kurdish terrorism.[9][10][11]
There are three crossings along the entire border, two for vehicular traffic and one for vehicular and rail traffic. The busiest of three,Habur (Ibrahim Khalil), is among the busiest border checkpoints in the world.
| Turkish checkpoint | Province | Iraqi checkpoint | Province | Opened | Route in Turkey | Route in Iraq | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Habur | Şırnak | Zakho | Duhok | 18 July 1969 |  |  | Open |
| Gülyazı | Şırnak | ? | ? | 24 January 2012 | ? | ? | Closed |
| Şemdinli-Derecik | Hakkâri | ? | ? | 14 February 2011 | ? | ? | Closed |
| Çukurca-Üzümlü | Hakkâri | Sar Zeri | Erbil | 7 May 2015 | ? | ? | Open |
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