Syria’s Hasakah governor calls on UN to press Turkey over water cut-off
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Hasakah governor Louay Sayoh called on the United Nations and international organizations on Monday to pressure Turkey to supply the city with water, and to keep water away from the military and political conflicts in the region.
In a meeting with the head of the UN office of Qamishli, Marcel Colin, and representatives of international organizations working in Hasakah, the governor condemned Turkey’s water cut-off to the city from Alouk water pumping station.
The station has been controlled by Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), since October 2019 following the Turkish invasion of Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad in the same month. Since then, Turkey has cut off water to Hasakah for more than 27 times, according to official statements by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The governor asked the organizations to increase their “support in light of the humanitarian crisis that Hasakah Governorate is going through.”
The governor noted to the risks associated with the ongoing cut-off in light of the cholera outbreak in Syria.
On Thursday, co-chair of the AANES Water Directorate of Hasakah Issa Younis, told North Press, “This is the longest period that Turkey has cut off water to the city and its countryside since it took control of the Alouk station.”
Sayoh also warned of the spread of cholera, and called the UN for more support for the health sector.
Turkey halted service at Alouk station for more than two months, depriving the residents of Hasakah and its countryside of drinking water.
To secure water, the residents of Hasakah city and its countryside – numbering more than 500.000 – depend primarily on purchasing it from water tankers, amid poor services provided by international relief organizations, according to statements by officials in the AANES.