SILOPI, Turkey — In a barrage of warnings to Iraqi Kurds over their independence vote, Turkey has threatened a series of sanctions, including the closing of the Habur border crossing between the two sides, a key economic lifeline for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Whatever worries the warning may have sparked in the KRG, jitters are running high on the Turkish side of the border where millions rely on the Habur route to make a living.

As Iraqi Kurds went to the polls Sept. 25, Turkish tanks maneuvered at a stone’s throw from the border, outside the town of Silopi, fueling apprehension among local Turkish Kurds and drivers on their way to and from Iraq. “What will happen to Habur?” three young men anxiously queried reporters, fresh from a drive to Iraqi Kurdistan with a stash of cheap cigarettes to resell at home.

Soon, their mood sank further as news broke of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the border crossing would be closed within days. “Time to get packing. If Habur closes, we’ll probably go to Antalya, Izmir or Istanbul to work,” the driver of the group said, referring to cities in western Turkey where millions of Kurds from the impoverished southeast migrate to earn a living.

“If Habur closes, countless people will be affected — from the street vendor at the border crossing to the holding [owner] in Istanbul. Millions of people earn their bread from here,” he said. “Look at me, for example. I took passengers [to Iraqi Kurdistan] this morning and brought cigarettes on the way back. What are we going to do if this becomes impossible?”