Water cutoff to Hasakah is war crime – Syrian Foreign Ministry
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stressed on Friday water cutoff to citizens of Hasakah, northeast Syria, by “Turkish occupier” and its affiliated “terrorist” Syrian opposition factions is a war crime and a crime against humanity.
On its official twitter account, the ministry said that the international community should “act to stop it immediately,” according to state-run SANA News Agency.
“Cutting off water to citizens in Hasaka and other Syrian cities for more than 50 days is an inhuman and immoral act, and whether it was committed by the original, who is the Turkish occupier, or the agent, who is terrorist organizations, it remains a war crime and a crime against humanity under International humanitarian law,” the ministry added.
It went further saying that releasing condemnation does not work anymore, thus “the international community must move to stop these practices immediately, as their continuation will lead to human disasters and pandemics.”
As cholera disease is spreading across Syria, cutting off water from Alouk pumping station in the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) to Hasakah city and its countryside pushes people to use contaminated water, putting lives of the residents of the region at risk.
Alouk water station, which lies in Sere Kaniye in the northern countryside of Hasakah, is the only water resource feeding the city and its countryside.
Alouk water pumping station has been controlled by Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), since the Turkish invasion of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad in October 2019.
Since then, Turkey has cut off water to Hasakah 27 times, according to official statements by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
About a month ago, Turkey has cut off drinking water to Hasakah, depriving all the city’s residents of water ever since.
On September 3, Civil Affairs Team of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS handed over the AANES 13 water tankers to provide drinking water to the city of Hasakah.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.