With assistance from Turkey...

Construction begins on a military bridge to connect the two banks of the Euphrates River in Deir ez-Zor, Syria

The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced the start of construction of a floating military bridge over the Euphrates River in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, in cooperation with the Turkish army, aiming to connect the two banks of the river and facilitate civilian movement.

According to the Syrian Ministry of Defense, the construction of the military bridge coincides with the completion of another bridge to connect the two banks of the Euphrates in cooperation with the Deir ez-Zor governorate.

The Syrian Defense Minister, via his account on platform X (formerly Twitter), thanked the Turkish Ministry of Defense, 'represented by Minister Yaşar Güler, for the assistance provided in this regard,' noting that the bridge's construction comes 'to ease the burden on our people in the governorate and to affirm that the army, as it has fulfilled its duty on the battlefield, is also present to contribute to reconstruction efforts.'

Technical specifications of the bridge

The floating military bridge, under construction near the 'Siyasiya crossing,' is about 280 meters long, and according to local media, its load capacity reaches 70 tons.

In a press interview, Yahya al-Ali, member of the Executive Office for Housing, Services, and Utilities, said that work on the bridge began 'as soon as water flow levels in the Euphrates stabilized,' adding that the bridge is expected to be completed within a few days and will be open to traffic immediately thereafter.

Due to the lack of a safe land alternative for thousands of civilians in Deir ez-Zor, residents currently rely on 'river ferries' to move between the two banks of the Euphrates. These primitive means have caused repeated drowning incidents in the area, the latest being a young man drowning with his vehicle at the Ayash crossing in the western countryside of the city.