SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Academics and economists in the city of Suwayda, southern Syria, say that holding large quantities of water from the Euphrates River is tantamount to an economic war against the northeastern regions of the country, and represents a clear violation of international agreements concluded between Syria and Turkey.
They did not rule out the possibility that the Damascus government is secretly complicit with Turkey to increase pressure on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration, while the absence of Damascus’ clear position on the issue increases this possibility.
For more than three months, Turkey has limited the flow of the Euphrates into Syria, depriving large numbers of people of usable water. Turkey reduced the flow of water from the Euphrates River into northeast Syria gradually, reducing the amount of water received to unprecedented lows.
Turkey keeps water in six dams, the largest of which is Ataturk Dam, the second largest in the Middle East, with a storage capacity of 48 billion m³, violating the international agreement they signed with Syria in 1987 which stated that Syria’s share of water coming from Turkey should be no less than 500 m³ per second.
The water flow to the Euphrates River is now limited to less than 200 cubic meters, according to the General Administration of Dams in Northeastern Syria.
