Iraqi fuel convoy enters Syria, reopening key transit route

DAMASCUS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The first convoy of Iraqi fuel tankers entered Syria on Wednesday through the al-Tanf-al-Waleed border crossing, reopening a key transit route after more than a decade of disruption.

The Syrian Petroleum Company said that the convoy consists of 299 tankers carrying refined fuel destined for the Baniyas refinery on Syria's Mediterranean coast, where it will be processed and prepared for export.

The shipments will be unloaded into storage facilities before being transferred to the Baniyas oil terminal for loading onto maritime tankers, the company added.

"This step reflects Syria's renewed role as a vital regional energy transit hub and strengthens its position in the regional energy security equation," the company said in a statement.

Safwan Sheikh Ahmad, director of corporate communications at the Syrian Petroleum Company, told state news agency SANA that the convoy is expected to arrive at its destination later Wednesday, adding that the fuel flow will contribute to economic activity through transit revenues.

The convoy's arrival follows the reopening of the border crossing with Iraq a day earlier, after it had been closed since 2015 when the Islamic State group seized large swaths of territory along the Syria-Iraq border. ■

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