Turkish shelling causes water interruptions in Syria’s Kobani
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – An official in Kobani, northern Syria, said on Tuesday that Turkish forces have been deliberately targeting for two months water supply lines – which feed the city – in the western countryside.
During the past two months, Kobani has been repeatedly targeted by Turkey. One strike hit the water supply lines, which damaged the supply network and deprived the city’s residents of water for several days.
Masoud Bozi, co-chair of Kobani Water Directorate, affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said that “Turkey’s aggression against northern Syria takes various shapes and forms, and the war on water is definitely one of them.”
“Turkey has targeted Kobani’s water supply lines three times since the beginning of this year, and repairing them is very difficult as the damaged lines are so close to the headquarters of the Turkish-backed factions [also known as the Syria National Army (SNA)],” Bozi added.
When plumbers go to repair the lines, “they get targeted by the Turkish forces and SNA factions, which prompts Russian forces there to step in as a mediator to prevent the repair team from being attacked,” according to Bozi.
He said that low water levels in the Euphrates River leads to power outage in the water pumping stations that feed Kobani and its countryside with drinking water.
The official pointed out that “Every time Turkey drops the flow of the Euphrates, poisoning cases increase among the city’s residents; because as the water stagnates, it becomes more subject to pollution.”
As Turkey keeps throttling the water flow, the water level of the Euphrates River in Syria has witnessed a dramatic decline, reaching the point of drought last summer, which negatively affected the agriculture and electricity sectors.
According to the 1987 agreement signed between Damascus and Ankara regarding the Euphrates River, Syria’s share of water coming from Turkey is no less than 500 cubic meters per second on average, equivalent to 2,500 barrels. However, that share has fallen below 200 cubic meters per second.
Bozi clarified that Turkey’s hostile practices are not limited to Kobani but also to north and east Syria as a whole, which is evident in its frequent cut-offs of water to Hasakah city from Alouk pumping station, and almost its daily drone strikes, in addition to reducing the water flow of the Euphrates River to its lowest levels.”