国际英语新闻:Turkey opens new border gate crossing to northern Syria

ANKARA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has opened a new border gate crossing to the northern Syrian region of Afrin, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan announced on Friday.

Pekcan said the customs gate was named "Olive Branch" after Turkey's military operation against Kurdish militants in Afrin early this year.

The Turkish trade officer previously said the gate will speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afrin and meet the infrastructure needs of the region.

Turkey has 10 land and three rail customs gates with Syria, but only one rail and four land ones are operational as of this month, local media Daily Sabah reported.

On Jan. 20, Turkish army launched cross-border operation in Afrin to clear Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants from the area.

Turkey considers the YPG as the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).