UNICEF mediates Alouk water supply for Syria’s Hasakah
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Official of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Sunday that there are ongoing international efforts, mediated by UNICEF, to pump water of Alouk station to the city of Hasakah, northeast Syria.
Issa Younes, co-chair of Water Directorate in Hasakah, affiliated with the AANES, told North Press that the mission of the UNICEF is humanitarian and has no connection to politics.
However, due to public pressure, the UNICEF intervened once again to convince Turkey to re-operate the station and pump water for more than a million people, Younes noted.
In a previous interview with North Press, Younes noted that the UNICEF stated that the reason for the Alouk station water cut-off is not technical but political.
The Alouk water station, which lies in the Turkish-occupied city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), is the only water resource feeding Hasakah and its countryside, however, the station is controlled by Turkey and Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka Syrian National Army (SNA).
Regarding the discussions held with the UNICEF and the agreed-upon terms during a recent meeting, Younes highlighted that the agreement entails supplying the Alouk station with six megawatts of electricity from the city of Derbasiyah, north of Hasakah, in exchange for operating 18 wells or more, as well as operating a minimum of four pumps or more, and monitoring the water flow from the Alouk station towards the city of Hasakah.
“We conveyed our worries about Turkey’s delay in the matter, and now everything will be put to the test. It is crucial that the water reaches Hasakah within 72 hours,” the official said.
Following that, a meeting will be arranged with the UNICEF to establish an agreement based on these conditions,” he further explained.
Younes explained that the implementation of the recent agreement has not yet started due to the need for maintenance work at the station. He emphasized that once the necessary repairs are completed for the station and horizontal pumps, as well as the preparation of the wells, the water will be pumped within an expected timeframe of approximately five days.
The official expressed his doubt that any party would be able to compel Turkey to guarantee any agreement, as Turkey uses water as a pressure card against the AANES.
The AANES water directorate will patiently await the specified timeframe once the station is operational, and if the water was not pumped, they will be left with no choice but to disconnect the electricity, the official concluded.