ANKARA (Reuters) - A border gate between Turkey and Syria’s Afrin opened on Thursday, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said on Friday.

The border crossing is dubbed “Olive Branch” after the Turkish operation that saw Ankara take the northern Afrin region from Syrian Kurdish forces this spring. The Turkish military has pushed into the northwest in two offensives, the first being “Euphrates Shield”, when it drove Islamic State militants from territory along the border in 2016.