Turkey closed a border crossing to Syria after an Al-Qaeda-linked group stormed a nearby town and expelled opposition fighters from an Arab and Western-backed unit, officials said on 19 September. Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on 18 September killed at least five members of the Northern Storm Brigade, a rebel unit that controls the border, highlighting the deep opposition divisions.
A Turkish official reportedly said the Oncupinar border gate – about 5 km (3 miles) from Azaz and opposite the Syrian Bab Al-Salameh gate – had been closed for “security reasons.” “There is still confusion about what is happening on the Syrian side. All humanitarian assistance that normally goes through the gate has ceased,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.