Turkey questions UN’s impartiality in water dispute with Rojava
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry late on Friday questioned the United Nations’ impartiality in Syria, claiming it has a “selective approach” to the war-torn country’s humanitarian issues and ignores areas held by Ankara and its Syrian proxies. The statement was in reaction to a UN note on several weeks of water interruptions from Turkish-held areas into the Kurdish-administered region.
“Up to 1 million people [are] at risk due to severe interruptions to Alouk Water Station” in northeast Syria (Rojava),” warned the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, and UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa in a joint statement on Thursday.
Without mentioning Turkey – whose forces and proxies in Syria control the key water station – the three UN officials called for the resumption of water and electricity services. “We remind all parties that water stations are civilian infrastructure that should be protected at all times,” they stated.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry responded on Friday, saying they are in regular contact with the UN regarding the humanitarian situation in Syria and claimed the UN statement “contains factual mistakes as well as incomplete and misleading information.”
“The co-signatories of the joint statement have a selective approach to the humanitarian issues inside Syria and ignore the severe consequences that hundreds of thousands of civilians living in the opposition-controlled areas have to face due to the deliberate electric and water shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the ministry.
“We remind the UN representatives in the region that the humanitarian problems in Syria must be addressed in an impartial, neutral and independent manner,” it added.
Turkey and its Syrian proxies invaded Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) towns in northeastern Syria in October 2019 during their offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The military offensive damaged the Alouk station, located in Sari Kani, and cut areas to the south off from their water supply. Electricity for the station comes from Kurdish-held areas and both sides blame the other for interruptions from Alouk.
“Since November 2019, the Alouk water station, which directly provides clean drinking water to nearly 460,000 people, has been disrupted at least 24 times,” said the UN representatives. “Since 23 June, the station has stopped operating due to a number of factors including reduced access for technicians to carry out maintenance and repairs and insufficient electricity, effectively and immediately limiting access to water across Al-Hasakeh governorate.”
They said they have received reports that “families are resorting to potentially unsafe sources of water or limiting consumption, which may contribute to growth in a range of potentially fatal water-borne diseases, and further undermine the already fragile public health.”
“Ongoing disruptions to the critical Alouk water station in northeast Syria must stop,” they stated.
Kurdish authorities have resorted to drawing water from wells. but health officials have warned that this water is not suitable for drinking. Over 1,300 people fell sick in Hasaka in May after drinking contaminated water.
Ahmed Badir, a resident of Hasaka, told Rudaw last week they had not received water for three weeks. “All the people depend on salt water or the wells,” he said.
Turkish officials have placed blame for the problem on the Kurdish authorities, who they say cut electricity to Sari Kani and Gire Spi, leaving the Alouk station with no power. They reiterated the accusation on Friday, saying Alouk has been without electricity since June 26.
The ministry said that Rojava and the Syrian regime “deliberately obstruct the electricity to the Station and the region. These power cuts disable the functions of the Station to provide water and aggravates the humanitarian conditions in the region.”
Rojava has had electricity shortages this summer, its hydropower dams unable to operate at full capacity because of reduced water in the Euphrates River, caused by cuts by Turkey and less rainfall this year that has created drought-like conditions on both sides of the border.
Turkey and Syria signed an agreement in 1987 that stipulates Turkey should release from its dams 500 cubic meters of water per second down the Euphrates River and across the border. However, Turkey has routinely failed to do this since Kurds took control of the dams during the Syrian conflict.
“Up to 1 million people [are] at risk due to severe interruptions to Alouk Water Station” in northeast Syria (Rojava),” warned the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, and UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa in a joint statement on Thursday.
Without mentioning Turkey – whose forces and proxies in Syria control the key water station – the three UN officials called for the resumption of water and electricity services. “We remind all parties that water stations are civilian infrastructure that should be protected at all times,” they stated.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry responded on Friday, saying they are in regular contact with the UN regarding the humanitarian situation in Syria and claimed the UN statement “contains factual mistakes as well as incomplete and misleading information.”
“The co-signatories of the joint statement have a selective approach to the humanitarian issues inside Syria and ignore the severe consequences that hundreds of thousands of civilians living in the opposition-controlled areas have to face due to the deliberate electric and water shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the ministry.
“We remind the UN representatives in the region that the humanitarian problems in Syria must be addressed in an impartial, neutral and independent manner,” it added.
Turkey and its Syrian proxies invaded Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) towns in northeastern Syria in October 2019 during their offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The military offensive damaged the Alouk station, located in Sari Kani, and cut areas to the south off from their water supply. Electricity for the station comes from Kurdish-held areas and both sides blame the other for interruptions from Alouk.
“Since November 2019, the Alouk water station, which directly provides clean drinking water to nearly 460,000 people, has been disrupted at least 24 times,” said the UN representatives. “Since 23 June, the station has stopped operating due to a number of factors including reduced access for technicians to carry out maintenance and repairs and insufficient electricity, effectively and immediately limiting access to water across Al-Hasakeh governorate.”
They said they have received reports that “families are resorting to potentially unsafe sources of water or limiting consumption, which may contribute to growth in a range of potentially fatal water-borne diseases, and further undermine the already fragile public health.”
“Ongoing disruptions to the critical Alouk water station in northeast Syria must stop,” they stated.
Kurdish authorities have resorted to drawing water from wells. but health officials have warned that this water is not suitable for drinking. Over 1,300 people fell sick in Hasaka in May after drinking contaminated water.
Ahmed Badir, a resident of Hasaka, told Rudaw last week they had not received water for three weeks. “All the people depend on salt water or the wells,” he said.
Turkish officials have placed blame for the problem on the Kurdish authorities, who they say cut electricity to Sari Kani and Gire Spi, leaving the Alouk station with no power. They reiterated the accusation on Friday, saying Alouk has been without electricity since June 26.
The ministry said that Rojava and the Syrian regime “deliberately obstruct the electricity to the Station and the region. These power cuts disable the functions of the Station to provide water and aggravates the humanitarian conditions in the region.”
Rojava has had electricity shortages this summer, its hydropower dams unable to operate at full capacity because of reduced water in the Euphrates River, caused by cuts by Turkey and less rainfall this year that has created drought-like conditions on both sides of the border.
Turkey and Syria signed an agreement in 1987 that stipulates Turkey should release from its dams 500 cubic meters of water per second down the Euphrates River and across the border. However, Turkey has routinely failed to do this since Kurds took control of the dams during the Syrian conflict.