Attachments
KEY MESSAGES
• Closure of the Fishkhabour-Semalka border crossing connecting the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) and Northeast Syria (NES) disrupted trade critical for key sectors of the economy. Surveyed KI vendors reported that the border closure, if prolonged, would cause large-scale loss of work among daily workers due to the impact on the construction sector including workers within manufacturing and businesses critical to the construction material supply chain.
• Certain basic food items reportedly increased in price and became less available only two weeks after the border closure including sugar, cooking oils, tomato paste, fruits and some vegetables. While vendors reported reliance on local production and other supply routes, alternatives are limited and vulnerable to disruption.
• The Fishkhabour-Semalka border crossing is the key corridor for humanitarian assistance to enter into NES providing critical assistance to the approximately 2 million people in need.1 It is likely that any prolongued closure of the border would heavily impact the health sector, given medical supplies cannot be procured locally. It would also likely challenge delivery of cash assistance, in-kind food aid, shelter projects, and infrastructure rehabilitation.
CONTEXT & RATIONALE
On May 11, 2023, the Fishkhabour-Semalka border crossing from the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) to Northeast Syria (NES) was closed for political reasons for an undisclosed period of time. The border crossing is a key trade corridor for the region, the only passage for humanitarian aid into NES, and main exit point for people to seek medical treatment not available in NES.2 Sahela/Al-Waleed border crossing between KRI and NES was also closed on May 11, which is a key passage for trade of crude oil and a key revenue stream for NES. Given the limited number and conflict-sensitive nature of other key supply routes into NES3 , disrupted trade from KRI can make markets and the communities that rely on them more vulnerable to other shocks that disrupt supply chains or put pressure on prices.
The Fishkhabour-Semalka border crossing was re-opened 26 days later at the beginning of June, but risk of repeated closure remains a key concern in the context of already precarious economic and humanitarian conditions in NES. This brief looks at the impact of the border closure on markets taking stock of findings from a qualitative Rapid Market Assessment conducted with key informant (KI) vendors in a select number of communities (see Map 1) following the crossing closure in May 2023. See methodology note for details.