Turkish-backed groups built three dams to cut off water to SDF-held northeast Syria: PAX
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Water shortages in parts of northeast Syria controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased after the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in the region built three earth dams, a Dutch peace organization, PAX, said in a new report published on Wednesday.
PAX acquired high-resolution satellite imagery showing three dams were constructed along the Khabur river in SNA-controlled territory in Syria’s Hasakah province.
The first dam was built on May 22, south of the village of Tall al Assafir. It was followed on May 27 by a dam 8 kilometers north of the town of As Safih. A third dam was constructed only a few hundred meters north of the first dam in the town of Al Manajeer on June 1.
PAX said that the summer of 2021 was one of the hottest ever recorded in northeast Syria due to climate change.
Syria has suffered from low rainfall this year, especially the SDF-held Hasakah province, the country’s breadbasket, AFP reported last month.
Read More: Dry year leaves Syria wheat farmers facing crop failure
Furthermore, dismal wheat harvests are threatening food security in the war-torn country, where 60 percent of people already struggle to buy food, the AFP report said.
“For farmers in and near the Khabur valley, the impact of these shortages was further compounded by the blockage of the river (by SNA-created dams), the Euphrates’ largest tributary and a historically non-seasonal waterway,” the PAX report said.
“The cutting of the river’s flow came at a time of severe drought and high diesel prices, which are preventing many farmers from operating their pumps,” the report added.
“With no irrigation, vast tracts of agricultural land are being left fallow.”
Moreover, Turkish-backed groups have regularly cut water from the Alouk water station, which they also control, to Hasakah, affecting an estimated 500,000 people in Hasakah city and nearby towns and villages.
Read More: UN relief head says water cut again to half a million people in northeast Syria
The Alouk water station is near the border town of Ras al-Ain (Serekaniye), which Turkey and its militant proxies took over in October 2019 during Ankara’s so-called Peace Spring military operation.
Turkey has previously denied it was responsible for cutting off the water supply.
According to PAX, the SNA has disrupted the water flow from Alouk over 20 times.
It also said Turkey reduced the amount of water released from its dams into the Euphrates River at the border. As a result, water levels in Syria have decreased by 70%.
