Turkey, Russia conduct joint work for water in Syria

RAS AL-AYN

Turkish and Russian military officials have agreed to cooperate to find a solution for water and electricity cuts in Al-Hasakah city of Syria, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Aug. 8.

The Russian military delegation visited the Allouk Water Station and the Mabrouka Power Plant with the Turkish military delegation in the area of Operation Peace Spring and made an examination.

The Allouk Water Station was providing water to Al-Hasakah city center and rural settlements, which are located in the Operation Peace Spring region. But the energy to operate the facility in the Dirbasiye district must be supplied from the Swedieh (Suwaidiyah) power plant, which is under the control of the YPG group.

However, when the YPG group deliberately cut the energy it produces from the Tishrin Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Euphrates River from the Operation Peace Spring region, the administration in the region is forced to meet the basic needs of the people with electricity from Swedieh Power Plant.

 Thus, the Swedieh Power Plant, which is supposed to run the Allouk Water Plant, is consumed to meet the needs of the people and the operation of the facility is interrupted. 

The YPG group has deprived the people of the Peace Spring Operation region for about five months of the electricity produced from the dams on the Euphrates River since April 2021.

During this period, while the settlements occupied by the group were supplied with uninterrupted electricity, the agricultural sector, which is the main source of income of the region, suffered a great loss.

Farmers could not get yield from barley, wheat, cumin and legumes because they could not irrigate their fields.

In addition, due to the exponential increase in hay prices, the breeders suffered greatly.

Turkish and Russian military delegations had been holding talks for a long time in order to eliminate the electricity-related water problem.

Most of the electricity supply to the provinces, especially in the eastern part of Syria, is obtained from the Euphrates, Tishrin and Baath dams on the Euphrates River. The electricity produced from these dams through hydroelectric power plants is under the control of the YPG.

The Russian military delegation, who noticed that the electricity coming to both regions was 20 percent of the required rate, stated that they would meet with the regime region to solve the problem, Demirören News Agency reported.