The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) declared Hasakah (Hesekê) Governorate a disaster area on Monday in response to Turkey’s ongoing stoppage of water flow. The AANES issued a statement accusing Russia and the Syrian government of complicity in Turkey’s actions.
The Alouk water station, located in the city of Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniyê), is the sole water source for Hasakah and its surrounding areas. However, the station is currently under the control of Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition factions, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA).
The Turkish forces, along with SNA factions, launched a ground incursion in 2019, resulting in the occupation of Ras al-Ayn and its surrounding territories.
Issa Younes, co-chair of the AANES’s Hasakah Water Directorate, described the situation in the region as dire and stressed that the city of Hasakah and its villages, the town of Tel Tamr (Til Temir), as well as the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region, have become disaster areas where life is virtually impossible.
The Turkish army has frequently stopped the water flow to the Alouk water station. Younes told North Press Agency that Turkey had cut off water flow to over a million people on more than 40 occasions.
On 3 June, the Alouk station resumed operations following a mediated agreement facilitated by UNICEF. The agreement stipulated that the AANES would provide electricity to areas under the control of the Turkish-backed SNA in exchange for the pumping of drinking water from the station to the city of Hasakah.
However, Turkey has violated the agreement several times, according to Younes.
Younes strongly denounced the international community’s silence regarding the issue, referring to it as “a crime against humanity.”
