Türkiye on Oct. 5 condemned Israel’s resumption of excavation work along the so-called “Sufa 53” line in Syria’s southern Quneitra province.
In a written statement dated Oct. 5, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as Israel’s “attempts to create new faits accomplis in Syria.”
The ministry called on the international community to take “effective and decisive steps without delay” to end Israel’s expansionist policies, which it said were escalating regional tensions, and to ensure Israel’s withdrawal from occupied Syrian territory.
Ankara said it would continue to support Syria’s sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity and take necessary steps in coordination with countries in the region.
Israeli forces resumed excavation work on Oct. 4 west of Al-Asha village in Quneitra as part of a project known as the “Sufa Line” or “Sufa 53,” according to the Syrian media.
Military vehicles and bulldozers were seen digging near the separation line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and extending a route through rural areas from northern to southern Quneitra, reports said.
Israel began work on Sufa 53 in mid-2022 near Hadr in northern Quneitra before extending the project south through nearby areas.
Israel says the fortifications are intended to prevent possible attacks by Iran-backed armed groups.
Construction continued after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024 and intensified as Israeli forces expanded their presence in and around the separation area in southern Syria.
Local residents have reported extensive damage to grazing land, trees and wild vegetation that provided an important source of income for families in the area.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the renewed work on Oct. 4, describing it as a “flagrant breach” of the 1974 disengagement agreement, which established a buffer zone and separation of forces between the two states.
