NORTH AND EAST SYRIA: Wells dug in Hasakah to relieve pressure of Turkish water cuts will be in service soon, says Nazira Goreya, Co-Chair of Executive Council
HASAKAH, Syria — The flow of water from the Alouk water station outside Rish Ayno (Ras al-Ayn) to Hasakah Canton in North and East Syria has once again been cut-off by Turkey and its proxies in the Syrian National Army (SNA) — a collection of militias, including several espousing Islamist ideologies, formed and funded by Turkey.
In a statement to SyriacPress, the Co-Chair of the Executive Council of Gozarto (Jazira) Region in North and East Syria, Nazira Goreya, said that, “The city of Hasakah has been suffering from frequent interruptions of drinking water for some time, as a result of the occupation of Alouk water station by the Turkish-backed militias who are preventing the pumping of water to Hasakah.”
Alouk provides drinking water for at least half-a-million civilians and is routinely deactivated by the Turkish military and SNA in an attempt to put pressure on the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) of North and East Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and force the allocation of electricity to occupied Rish Ayno as well as to stretch the limited resources of the DAA.
“This has led to a deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Hasakah, which is home to more than a million people, and is home to thousands of displaced people, and the situation is getting worse,” said Goreya.
In a July interview with SuroyoTV, Co-Chair of the Water Directorate for Hasakah Canton Sozdar Ahmed described the situation:
“The main water station is the Alouk station which belongs to Ras al-Ayn [Rish Ayno] and has been under the control of the Turkish factions since October 2019. This greatly affected the water situation, as water was cut off several times in the city of Hasakah due to targeting the station.”
Alouk has been purposefully deactivated multiple times by occupying Turkish forces. In a 17 February 2020 report published by PopularFront detailing Turkey’s targeting of water stations in North and East Syria, Kimberly Westenhiser wrote:
“Alouk was targeted by artillery and machine gun fire in April of 2017, when tensions between the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia and the Turkish military escalated. The damage stopped operations for a 24-hour period before repairs could be made. This was followed by another strike in 2018, and another in July 2019, according to [Sozdar Ahmed].”
Shutting down Alouk isn’t the only means by which Turkey has weaponized water in its campaign to occupy and demographically change northern Syria. Turkey has severely reduced the amount of water flowing in the Euphrates River to drought-like levels by restricting the flow through its upstream dams.
In July, Co-Chair of the Syriac Union Party (SUP) in Syria Sanharib Barsoum stressed to SuroyoTV stressed that the drying of the Euphrates River threatens a humanitarian disasters and that Turkey is engaging in collective punishment against the people of North and East Syria.
In its war against the people of North and East Syria, Turkey has used water as a weapon, said Barsoum, stating that reducing the flow of the Euphrates is only the latest violation of Turkey in this regard.
تركيا دولة خارجة عن القوانين الدولية وتجفيف نهر الفرات هي تعتبر جريمة جماعية ضد الملايين من الشعب السوري والاسوأ من ذلك هو السكوت المجتمع الدولي عن جرائمها pic.twitter.com/YPTeQeayZT
— sanharib barsom (@SanharibB) July 8, 2020
According to Barsoum, Turkey is engaging in acts of collective punishment, a crime under the Geneva Conventions. He also warned that Turkey’s restriction of the water resources of the Euphrates River, a vital source of drinking water, electricity, and irrigation for crops, will exacerbate the humanitarian and economic disaster already affecting the peoples of the region.
“We, as the Syriac Union Party in Syria, affirm our position on the direction of great powers that have influence in Syria to stop Turkish practices, particularly on the issue of water, to the detriment of civilians in the region,” he concluded.
To help alleviate the water shortage, the local administration of Hasakah city has planned a series of wells to be dug throughout the city. However, the project had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus. “In April, we dug many shallow wells, but the work was halted due to the spread of coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the border crossings, said Sozdar Ahmed in July.
In her recent statement to SyriacPress, Nazira Goreya gave an update on the status of the well-digging project:
“A delegation from the Executive Council, the Water Directorate, and members of the Municipal and Provincial Authority visited the Al-Hemah well project, in which 50 wells were drilled to alleviate the water crisis in Hasakah. In a maximum of 10 days, these wells will be in service and other projects are being worked on to alleviate the suffering of the people of Hasakah.”