State of emergency declared in Syria’s Hasakah over water crisis

HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) –  The Directorate of Water of the Autonomous Administration in the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, has declared a state of emergency to assist residents in securing water due to Turkish forces’ repeated interruption of the work of Alouk water station in Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain).

"Turkish forces cut off water from Hasakah city about a week ago, which led them to declare a state of emergency to face the crisis, and we called on other Autonomous Administration areas to help us if the situation continues in this way ," co-chair of Hasakah’s Water Directorate Sozdar Ahmad told North Press.

The Turkish forces have repeatedly cut off water from Alouk water station to the city of Hasakah and its countryside after they invaded areas in northeastern Syria and took control of the city of Sere Kaniye late last year, which threatens a humanitarian catastrophe amid high temperatures, according to reports.

Ahmad added that “Turkey stopped the work of water station between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on a daily basis, and after that they are operating 10 % of the total capacity of the station, so the water doesn’t reach Hasakah city.”

Earlier in April, Human Rights Watch said that the failure of Turkish authorities to ensure adequate water supplies to areas of northeastern Syria was negatively affecting the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide aid to communities.

Ahmad said the Autonomous Administration informed the Russian troops about the water cutoff, and the Russian response was that they held talks with Turkey without any results so far.

Regarding the services available to Autonomous Administration at the present time to provide water, she said, "We have tanks that we use to distribute water in the neighborhoods of Hasakah, but the number of tanks we have is not sufficient to meet the needs of the entire city."

Last March, the Water Directorate announced that it had started with the Hama station project and would drill 50 wells west of Hasakah to supply the city and its countryside with drinking water as a major alternative to the Alouk station.

"We got the necessary materials and equipment to equip the wells after the lifting of the lockdown, and the process of preparing the wells may take one month to enter the station into service and reduce the water problem in Hasakah."

Ahmed denied social media reports that the water from Hama station is undrinkable.

Reporting by Jindar Abdulqadir, editing by Lucas Chapman