Turkey is employing a water cut-off as a means to apply pressure on the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), according to Denmark’s Special Envoy to Syria, Nikolaj Harris.
Harris disclosed Turkey’s strategy of using water to undermine support for the AANES while speaking to the North Press Agency on Thursday.
“The Turks believe that severely reducing the water flow from their country into Syria will weaken the autonomous administration while staying below the threshold that would compel the Americans to take action against Turkey,” said Harris.
On 3 July, the AANES declared the Hasakah (Hesekê) Governorate a disaster area due to Turkey’s ongoing water cut-off, plunging one million people into a severe water crisis. The Alouk water station, which serves as the primary water source for Hasakah and its surrounding areas, is being controlled by Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition factions, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA).
Sheikhmous Darwish, a groundwater geological expert from the AANES Water Directorate, stated in a previous statement to the North Press that the withholding of water by Turkish forces and the SNA has created dire circumstances, leaving Hasakah and its towns and villages in a state where life is virtually impossible.
The AANES accused Russia and the Syrian government of complicity in Turkey’s actions in their statement. The Alouk water station, located in Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniyê), remains a contested area following the Turkish military’s incursion and subsequent occupation in 2019.
Although an agreement facilitated by UNICEF on 3 June resulted in the resumption of operations at the Alouk station, Turkey has reportedly violated the terms on more than 40 occasions. The agreement stipulated that the AANES would provide electricity to areas controlled by the Turkish-backed SNA in exchange for the pumping of drinking water from the station to the city of Hasakah.
