Syria’s Kobani Faces Severe Water Crisis Amid Turkish Attacks on Tishrin Dam

By Fattah Issa

KOBANE, Syria (North Press) – For more than a month, Mustafa Ismail, a 40-year-old resident of Kobani in northern Syria, has been forced to purchase drinking water from tankers. This has exacerbated his already dire financial situation, as both water and electricity supplies to the city have been cut off due to Turkish-backed factions attacking the Tishrin Dam area.

Insufficient Water Supply from Tankers

Speaking to North Press, Ismail explained that Kobani’s residents have been living without water and electricity for over a month. While some can manage without electricity, life becomes unbearable without water, especially given the harsh economic conditions, the cold winter, and the lack of jobs and resources.

Ismail stressed the urgent need for a solution, pointing out that in the current economic climate, most residents cannot afford to pay 40,000 to 50,000 Syrian pounds for a water tanker twice a week.

He also highlighted that the situation is worsened by the limited capacity of available tankers to meet the city’s growing water demands, especially with the influx of displaced people seeking refuge in Kobani.

Ismail warned that as summer approaches, the struggle to secure drinking water will intensify. Currently, residents must book tankers a day in advance to have their water tanks refilled the next day.

Additional Costs

Another resident, 30-year-old Idris Ali, resorted to drilling a borehole to avoid the continuous financial burden of buying water, particularly as the summer months will bring even greater challenges.

Ali explained that he has been without drinking water for a month, relying on tanker deliveries that cost 50,000 pounds per tank. Faced with these high costs, he decided to dig a well, despite the significant expense.

“Each week, I had to purchase water twice, with each tank costing 50,000 pounds. Over the course of a month, it became financially unbearable,” he told North Press.

He detailed that drilling a borehole costs around $300, with an additional $300 required to equip it with a pump, hoses, and electricity. “All these expenses are just to solve the water crisis,” Ali added.

He emphasized that the continued inoperability of the Tishreen Dam poses a major challenge, as residents cannot cope without a stable water supply.

Calls to Stop Attacks

Residents of northeastern Syria are urging human rights organizations and the international community to intervene and halt Turkish attacks on the Tishreen Dam.

Mahamoud Ismail, a 50-year-old Kobani resident, said his household has been without access to the city’s primary drinking water supply since electricity at the Tishreen Dam was disrupted. This has exacerbated the suffering of Kobani’s residents in their efforts to secure drinking water.

“Some residents have wells, but even those require operational and maintenance costs,” he told North Press.

He added that purchasing water from tankers only provides enough for two or three days, forcing some residents to rely on neighbors with wells.

Mahamoud emphasized that residents cannot afford the ongoing costs of buying water, given the severe economic challenges. “Two water tanks last just five days, and with no steady income or job opportunities, it’s unsustainable.”

He called for humanitarian organizations to intervene and for the United Nations or human rights committees to mediate a solution to the water and electricity crisis.

The Conflict at Tishrin Dam

For over a month, intense clashes have been ongoing between Turkey and its allied factions on one side and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the other, in areas around the Tishrin Dam and the countryside of Manbij.

The Tishrin Dam is a vital source of water and electricity for the region’s residents, some of whom have become victims of Turkish drone strikes targeting civilian convoys protesting the attacks on the dam.