To "prevent smuggling" 10 years later..or 1.5 million Iraqis and a lot more than hundreds of thousands Syrians, Palestinians..Kurds..later.. Or for cables, powerstations, pipelines, highways along the "green belt"..

605-kilometre ditch along the Iraq-Syria border, only 15 kilometres remains to be completed. The ditch is in general 2 metres wide and 3 metres deep.

Thousands gather at border to protest Hewler government
Rojava citizen shot dead by peshmerga at border crossing
Turkey also digging ditches on border
Vigil at Rojava border
Turkish Soldiers Attack Rojava Residents Along Border
"We want to celebrate the May Day in our lands"

Turkish army activity in Kurdistan
Mass grave discovered during road works

Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi urges Iran to stop executing Kurds
Kurds in Selmas threatened by Iranian regime
The Iranian Regime Snares for Youth
East Kurdistan student faces hanging