Road check-points have also been tightened after the recent increase in refugees – who are crossing the border between Van and Iran - as well as of Iranian tourists to Van. While strict road searches are carried out on the entrance and exit roads of the center of Van, people who want to reach the borough of Özalp and Saray via the Iranian road pass through three different check-points.

At check-points, passengers are asked whether they are Turkish or not. Asking this question during road searches, the Erçek Gendarmerie Control receives various reactions. When a person answered saying "We are not Turks, we are Kurds," he was harassed by the soldiers and kept at the checkpoint for a long time.

Van Chamber of Commerce, led by AKP's Necdet Takva, did not take any action despite applications for sectarian road controls.