Semalka Border Crossing
Bridge in Faysh Khabur, Kurdistan Region
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Semalka Border Crossing (Arabic: معبر سيمالكا الحدودي, romanized: Menfath Simalka al-Hudoodi; Kurdish: دەروازەی سنووریی سێمالکە, romanized: Derwazeî Snûrîî Sêmalka), is a border crossing established between the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria during the Syrian Civil War, about 1 km downstream from the Iraqi–Syrian–Turkish tripoint and just north of Faysh Khabur in Iraq and Khanik in Syria consisting of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris.
Khanik, Syria
Faysh Khabur, Kurdistan Region, IraqSemalka Border Crossing معبر سيمالكا الحدودي دەروازەی سنووریی سێمالکە | |
|---|---|
Border crossing at Semalka between Kurdistan and Syria on the Tigris River for trading food, oil, electronics, and other goods. | |
| Coordinates | 37.089323°N 42.349890°E |
| Carries | Pedestrians, vehicles, containers |
| Crosses | Tigris River |
| Locale | Khanik, Syria Faysh Khabur, Kurdistan Region, Iraq |
| Begins | Khanik, Syria |
| Ends | Faysh Khabur, Kurdistan Region, Iraq |
| Official name | Semalka Border Crossing |
| Maintained by | General Authority for Borders and Customs Kurdistan Regional Government |
| Website | semalka |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Pontoon bridge |
| Traversable? | Yes |
| History | |
| Opened | Permanently open since June 2016 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | Trade (food, oil, electronics, and other goods) |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Semalka Border Crossing | |
The border crossing has been intermittently closed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), but has been open permanently since June 2016,[1][2] and economic exchange has since then begun to normalize between Northeastern Syria and the Kurdistan Region.[1] In a February 2026 interview, the SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi stated that Syrian officials would set up a office there to work with existing staff to keep the border crossing operational. This move is part of an integration agreement reached between the Syrian transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces.[3]