Turkish-occupied Alouk water reaches Syria’s Hasakah but not Tel Tamr
TEL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – The water of the Alouk station, in the countryside of the Turkish-occupied the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), in northeastern Syria, has yet to reach the town of Tel Tamr, due to weak pumping.
Issa Younes, co-chair of the Water Directorate in Hasakah, told North Press on Saturday that “pumping water is so far very weak. We are waiting for the intervention of UNICEF and ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] to pressure the Turkish government to abide by the Alouk water station agreement.”
Tel Tamr is located in north of Hasakah on the Hasakah-Sere Kaniye road. The main drinking water line that originates in Alouk station and feeds the city of Hasakah passes through Tel Tamr.
UNICEF had intervened to solve the water problem in Hasakah. They contacted the Turkish side, which agreed to pump water in return for providing electricity to areas held by Turkish forces in northern Hasakah, according to a previous statement by Younes.
“We consider the town of Tel Tamr one of the city’s neighborhoods, which is fed with water when its turn comes,” he added.
He noted that due to the weak pumping and inaccessibility of water to some neighborhoods in the city, Tel Tamr had not been fed with water so far.
Younes said that the al-Hemma water reservoirs, which feed Hasakah, used to take 8–10 hours to fill, but now take over 48 hours to fill completely. Therefore, supplying all neighborhoods with drinking water has been impossible.
He noted that 4-5 horizontal pumps must be operated at the Alouk station to pump water towards Hasakah, but only two pumps are operating, according to the agreement.
The official revealed that coordination with UNICEF and ICRC is ongoing.
Since 2019, Turkey and their affiliated Syrian opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), have cut off water coming from the station to Hasakah and its countryside 30 times.
The Alouk water station, which lies in Ras al-Ain, is the only water resource feeding Hasakah and its countryside. The station is controlled by Turkey and its affiliated SNA.
In 2019, Turkish forces and the SNA factions launched the “Peace Spring” military operation where it occupied Ras al-Ain and its countryside.
Turkey’s cutoffs threaten about a million and a half people with a real disaster.
In July 2021, an official in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) revealed indirect negotiations with Turkey sponsored by Russia to resume operating the Alouk station but to no avail.