Politics

Turkey continues to cut off water to Hasakah city: SANA agency

“The constant cutting off water in the Alouk water station, affecting one million people in Hasaka province and the communities.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/09/20 19:21

The Alouk water reservoir in northeastern Syria. (Photo: Achive)

Syria Alouk Water Station Alouk northeast Syria Water Crisis Euphrates River Hasakah

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkey continues to cut off water to Hasakah city and its environment, Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported on Tuesday. This comes amidst an outbreak of cholera in Syria.

“The constant cutting off water in the Alouk water station, affecting one million people in Hasaka province and the communities,” said Director of the Syrian government's Hasaka Water Department, Mahmoud Okla, told SANA.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths during a briefing to the UN Security Council on Sept 14 said that “water remains inaccessible for the population through Alouk, the water station we also discussed, since 11 August is shutdown.”

“In this context, access to safe water is more important than ever,” he said.

“I call on all relevant parties to facilitate reliable access to safe water. Otherwise, we’ll see more of those cases of cholera, we will see more damage to the health system, we will see more problems arising out of the absence of reliable electricity.”

However, Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Turkey's UN representative during the UN Security Council meeting accused Kurdish forces of cutting the electricity to the Alouk water station, causing water shortages.

Bassam al-Sabbagh, Syria's representative to the United Nations on the other hand spotlighted "the lack of condemnation for those who are causing the recurrent water issues and turning a blind eye to the suffering of Syrians."

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 Operation.

Since then, Turkish-backed groups have regulary shut water flow from the facility, affecting an estimated 500,000 people in Hasakah city and nearby communities.