At an altitude of 2,800 meters (over 9,185 feet), the Başkale district of the eastern province of Van hosts a military outpost defying the cold weather. Dressed in white against the backdrop of snow-white slopes, soldiers deployed on the Turkish-Iranian border patrol the area as temperatures at times drop as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit)
The Güllük outpost is 83 kilometers (51.57 miles) away from downtown Van and long stretches of barren landscape straddle across the border. Soldiers utilize high technology and winter camouflage to perform multiple tasks, from fighting against smuggling and irregular migration to measures against infiltration of PKK terrorists.
Nicknamed “border eagles,” troops watch the border day and night with locally-made thermal cameras and armored vehicles. Above them, drones monitor the lengthy border.
The outpost’s commander, who did not give his name for security reasons, told the Anadolu Agency (AA) on Saturday that they faced various challenges while they were performing their duty. They mostly involve the nature of the region in which they are deployed. Steep hills and rocks, valleys and roaring streams dot the region, which is already notorious for its harsh winters with constant snowfall.
The commander says the border has “25 layers of security,” and those include 4-meter high modular walls topped with barbed wire, electronic, optical monitoring towers, thermal cameras, security cameras, mini drones, larger drones and reconnaissance planes, commando units, police units from the famed Special Operations branch and gendarmerie troops.
Electro-optical towers built by local defense contractor ASELSAN are of major assistance to troops. They are fitted with cameras that provide a constant stream of imaging day and night, thermal cameras, radars and gunshot detection systems, towers are controlled by a center in the outpost. The commander says they also have 4-meter deep ditches near the border to slow down and prevent infiltrations.
Against irregular migration, the outpost’s armored vehicles and drones fitted with loudspeakers issue warnings in Turkish, Farsi and Arabic against migrants approaching the border and if they ignore the warnings, troops intercept the migrants. “Protecting the border is protecting the country’s honor,” the commander said.
The Van-Iran border stretches for 295 kilometers and has long been a focal point for security concerns. In recent years, Ankara has intensified its efforts to fortify this area. According to military sources, these measures are yielding results. So far this year, security forces have prevented more than 15,000 irregular migrants from entering Türkiye, seized hundreds of kilograms of illegal narcotics and apprehended several members of the PKK trying to infiltrate the border.