ALEPPO, Syria — On Dec. 1, the military council of the town of Marea — located in an Euphrates Shield area in the northern Aleppo countryside — opened the Towayhina business crossing, near Towayhina village. The crossing links areas held by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) with areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces southeast of the city.

Merchants in Euphrates Shield areas were satisfied with the decision to inaugurate the Towayhina crossing, given its central location, proximity to the regime-held areas in Aleppo and trade convoys’ easy access to Aleppo's western countryside areas and Idlib— both of which are under the opposition’s control. Also, the tariffs imposed on goods are lower than those imposed at other crossings in the Euphrates Shield areas, such as Em Jlud crossing, south of Ghandoura town, and Al-Shat crossing, west of Azaz city.

The Marea military council — which supervises the management of the crossing — is composed of several Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions, namely Al-Jabha al-Shamiya, Al-Mutasim Brigade, the Mustapha Regiment, and Al-Safwa Islamic Battalion. Marea’s city council also takes part in crossing’s management, and both councils agreed that financial revenues obtained from tariffs imposed on goods at the Towayhina crossing be divided between them. The local council plans to use its share of the funds to implement service projects in the city, while FSA factions will spend their share to pay the salaries of more than 100 militants affiliated with Marea’s military council and who are in charge of securing and managing the traffic at the crossing.

Al-Monitor made a visit to the Towayhina crossing and met with Faisal Abdul Rahman, a member of the crossing supervisory authority — which is affiliated with both councils and includes representatives of the military council’s factions. He said, “Although it has been only a few days since the inauguration of the crossing, separating the Euphrates Shield areas in the Aleppo countryside from SDF-held areas, southeast of Marea, a good number of trade convoys are using the crossing in both directions. Fuel derivatives, diesel, gasoline and crude oil are brought from SDF areas to Euphrates Shield areas, while food, clothing, cement, iron and industrial machinery enter SDF areas from Euphrates Shield areas, mostly originally brought from Turkey through the Bab al-Salameh crossing.”