Al-Hasakah Governor Nour al-Din Ahmed discussed with representatives of UNICEF and the Directorates of Water and Education ways to accelerate the reopening of the Alouk Water Station, in light of the ongoing water crisis that the governorate has suffered from for years.

During the meeting, the head of the organization’s office, Julie Faranda, reviewed UNICEF’s activities in the governorate and the possibility of strengthening cooperation with official bodies, particularly with regard to supporting the water sector and rehabilitating the infrastructure of essential services.

The Governor of al-Hasakah stressed the need to quickly restart the Alouk Station, which is the main source of drinking water for the city of al-Hasakah and its countryside, in addition to discussing the possibility of rehabilitating several damaged schools in the governorate.

These efforts come at a time when approximately 1.5 million people in al-Hasakah and its countryside have been facing an ongoing water crisis since 2019, after water pumping stopped from the Alouk station located in the Serê Kaniyê / Ras al-Ain area. This has forced residents to rely on expensive water tankers or shallow wells that often lack proper health standards.

According to local sources, international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, along with several UN agencies, have proposed initiatives to restart the station and cover maintenance costs. However, these efforts have not yet resulted in the restoration of water pumping.

Water from the Alouk station has been cut off to the cities of al-Hasakah and Tal Tamr more than 28 times over the past four years, and it has been completely halted since June 2023, despite repeated international mediation efforts.

The water crisis in al-Hasakah Governorate therefore remains unresolved, awaiting practical steps that would fully restore the operation of the Alouk Water Station and end years of suffering for residents in accessing safe drinking and domestic water.

Geologist Amer al-Rakrak told North Press that all wells in Hasakah are shallow, noting that the governorate lacks artesian wells or deep groundwater reserves fed from distant or renewable sources. He explained that most wells historically depended on the Khabur and Jaghjagh rivers, in addition to seasonal rainwater runoff, all of which have sharply declined in recent years.

Al-Rakrak attributed the rapid drop in groundwater levels to excessive pumping by residents and private water distribution outlets, as well as random and unregulated drilling in unsuitable geological layers. “These practices not only cause water levels to fall, but also lead to a gradual deterioration in water quality with every additional decline,” he added. 

He indicated that some areas rely directly on rainfall, rivers, and nearby streams, but stressed that these sources are insufficient to meet summer demand and cannot serve as a long-term solution to secure water supplies for Hasakah city and its surrounding countryside.

According to al-Rakrak, groundwater levels are falling by an estimated two to three meters annually, placing increasing pressure on residents, agricultural production, and vegetation cover, and turning water management into a persistent and growing challenge.

He stressed the urgent need for long-term, sustainable strategic projects, such as constructing a water canal from the Tigris River, to ensure lasting water security for the region.

Failure to implement such solutions, he warned, could lead to the complete depletion of existing wells and render water sources unfit for drinking, with serious health, environmental, and agricultural consequences.

Hasakah Governorate has long been one of Syria’s most agriculturally important regions, heavily dependent on rainfall, rivers, and groundwater to sustain farming and daily life.

Over the past decade, however, prolonged drought, climate change, upstream water policies, and damage to infrastructure caused by the conflict have significantly reduced surface water availability.

The drying of the Khabur River and repeated disruptions to major water facilities, including the Alouk water station, have forced residents to increasingly rely on groundwater.  

The absence of effective regulation and sustainable water management has accelerated depletion, making water scarcity one of the most pressing humanitarian and environmental challenges facing northeastern Syria today.

The geography of Kurdistan is among the regions where policies of ecocide are implemented most intensely. Water is used both as a tool of demographic transformation and as a security instrument; militarily restricted zones are opened to mining projects; highlands that have been used for animal husbandry for thousands of years are turned into solar power plant sites; ancient cities such as Hasankeyf and Zeugma are submerged under dam waters, among many other practices.

Announcing its establishment at a workshop held in 2024 in the German city of Freiburg with the participation of dozens of ecology activists, the Europe–Kurdistan Ecology Movement (TEV-EKO) aims to expose policies and practices of ecocide in Kurdistan to the public through the perspective of an ecological society, to build organization at the local level, and to develop international cooperation in the field of ecology.

TEV-EKO Co-Spokesperson Fatoş Göksungur spoke to ANF about the movement’s founding objectives, its goals, the visibility of ecocide policies in Kurdistan, and its priorities for the period ahead.

Could you summarize TEV-EKO’s founding objectives and its main areas of work so far? What distinguishes TEV-EKO’s approach to the ecological struggle?

To understand TEV-EKO, it is first necessary to ask why it emerged. Our main point of departure was the paradigm reshaped by Abdullah Öcalan through the system of democratic confederalism. Within this framework, democratic modernity is constructed as a way of life resting on three fundamental pillars: an ecological society, a democratic society, and a women’s freedom, based society. One of these three pillars is the ecological dimension.

When viewed holistically, it becomes clear that none of these can exist without the others. A democratic society is only possible if there is an ecological society; likewise, a truly democratic society cannot exist without a women’s freedom, based social structure. It is evident that one cannot be sustained without the other.

From around 2005 onward, as organizing efforts developed on the basis of this new paradigm, the weakness of organization in the ecological field became increasingly visible. Despite the fact that the dirty war waged by the state against Kurdish society in Kurdistan has included ecocide as one of its dimensions, the focus largely remained on questions of status and politics. As a result, policies of ecocide did not receive the attention they deserved.

In Europe, there was an additional distance created by being physically removed from Kurdistan. Here, too, the issue of status was approached mainly through an administrative and political lens or, to put it differently, through a discourse of political status detached from the ecosystem itself. Because of these inadequate approaches within our organizational framework, the need for organizing in the field of ecology began to impose itself more forcefully.

In 2023, at the Congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Communities in Europe (KCDK-E), a decision was taken to establish a committee focused on ecology, and we assumed responsibility for this work. In a sense, this was also a form of self-criticism for not having sufficiently foregrounded ecology during the period in which we served as co-chairs. From July 2023 onward, we began ecological organizing in Europe at the committee level. The committee initially started with five people and gradually expanded through discussions with others. From the outset, we emphasized that what distinguishes us from other ecological movements is the need to organize specifically within the field of social ecology. In line with this perspective, we began forming committees in various countries up until December 2024.

Finally, at a workshop we organized in December 2024, with the participation of activists from all organized fields within KCDK-E in Europe, we officially announced the establishment of TEV-EKO.

What are the most visible examples of the long-standing ecological destruction in Kurdistan? How does this devastation affect the daily life and cultural continuity of the Kurdish people?

Abdullah Öcalan has defined ecological struggle as something that “must be the most radical form of struggle.” This assessment is crucial when viewed against the backdrop of the state’s war policies. Over the past fifty years in Kurdistan, thousands of villages have been forcibly evacuated and millions of Kurds have been displaced. This has meant not only forced migration, but also the severing of the Kurdish people’s bond with their land. The burning of forests signifies both the destruction of Kurdistan’s nature, and the eradication of its endemic plant diversity.

Beyond this, there are also policies of ecocide carried out under military and security justifications. The mountains of Kurdistan are bombed, and Kurdish villagers are displaced, forced to migrate both to metropolitan centers in Turkey and to Europe. In other words, under the pretext of war, a comprehensive ecocide policy is being implemented that targets Kurdistan’s air, water, soil, nature, forests, and all living beings inhabiting these lands.

At the same time, areas closed to civilians under the labels of “special security zones” or “military restricted zones” are being transformed by the state into mining sites, hydroelectric power plant projects, and dam construction areas. While policies aimed at altering the demographic structure of Kurdistan are pursued on one hand, an integrated ecocide strategy is implemented on the other through dams and mining operations.

One of the most striking examples of this today can be seen in the mining sites in Şırnak (Şirnex). The near-total plundering of the natural environment in Dersim, and perhaps even more visibly and before the eyes of the world, the uprooting and transfer of thousands-year-old olive trees in Afrin (Efrin), stand as stark examples. Quite literally, the olive trees of Afrin have been stolen. The olive tree is significant both as a source of livelihood and as a symbol of harmony with nature.

In addition, dam policies imposed across Kurdistan are highly conspicuous. One of the most fundamental strategies pursued today is the use of water as both a security tool and a weapon. The Tigris (Dicle) and Euphrates (Fırat) rivers are two major waterways with the capacity to sustain Mesopotamia and perhaps much of the Middle East. Yet due to regional war policies, water is used as a weapon against Rojava, while in Northern Kurdistan (Bakur), dams are used to redirect water flows, submerging numerous historic cities.

The flooding of Hasankeyf, Samsat, Zeugma, Urfa (Riha), Halfeti, and surrounding villages represents some of the clearest examples of the ecocide policies and practices imposed on Kurdistan.

When issues such as forest fires, dam projects, and the mining activities you mentioned come to the fore, how does TEV-EKO build solidarity mechanisms and monitor these processes?

When we established and announced TEV-EKO in Europe, we defined our work around four main principles.

First, we aimed to promote social ecology consciousness as a way of life and understanding within assemblies and administrative structures in all areas where we are organized, and among all people from Kurdistan living in Europe.

Second, we set out to bring policies of ecocide in Kurdistan onto the agenda in Europe as well, and to carry out struggle around this issue.

Third, we are facing a global ecological crisis today. The planet we live on is being subjected entirely to the exploitation and plunder of capitalist modernity, to the point where even people’s daily lives are being poisoned. In this sense, building common ground and cooperation with ecological movements operating at the global level is one of our priority objectives.

The fourth principle and the most comprehensive and decisive one, is our effort to share Abdullah Öcalan’s paradigm of an ecological society with ecological movements worldwide, while also transforming this paradigm into a field of struggle and consciousness within our own organizational structure.

On this basis, an organizational framework was formed and continues to develop. Over our two years of organizing, have we been able to create sufficient sensitivity toward ecocide policies in Kurdistan? We are still far from where we need to be. But we are an ecology movement that acts with this awareness and bases its organizing efforts on building consciousness around it.

We emphasize this awareness particularly in the public meetings we hold and wherever we go, especially when responding to the question of why we organized TEV-EKO in the first place. One of the fundamental reasons is to bring ecocide policies, not only in Northern Kurdistan, but across all four parts of Kurdistan and the ecological destruction caused by capitalist modernity to the agenda, to explain them to our own society, and to work toward building this collective awareness.

TEV-EKO also carries out a number of digital campaigns. In your view, what kinds of strategies are needed to make ecocide in Kurdistan visible at the international level?

The ecological struggle will increasingly be carried out through campaigns in the period ahead. At present, one of the most urgent issues in Kurdistan is the embargo imposed on Rojava, and this has still not been lifted. Rojava is known as a major grain-producing region, a place where seeds are sown extensively, the land is cultivated intensively, and wheat production is at its highest levels. It is also one of the most important centers in terms of soil fertility across Kurdistan. Yet today, water is being used as a weapon against Rojava, and a food embargo is simultaneously being imposed.

At the same time, with the Peace and Democratic Society process now underway, our hope for the coming year is that ecological problems will be addressed through a social ecology perspective. This means dismantling an approach that treats water, food, seeds, trees, olives, and the nature of Kurdistan as hostages and instruments of war, and instead building an ecological way of life on a more democratic foundation, one shaped by society itself and rooted in its own needs.

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) has established a new special unit to protect the environment. The Environmental Protection Forces were created by the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in close coordination with the Regional Environmental Agency. The aim is to systematically protect nature and curb environmental crimes in the region.

The new structure was established in line with the decisions made at the annual meeting of the Environment Committee of North and East Syria on December 15. The official presentation of the new structure took place on Monday at the Environmental Agency building in the canton of Raqqa. Representatives of the new unit, delegates from regional environmental assemblies, and the co-chairs of the Environmental Agency attended the event.

In his speech, Ibrahim el-Esed, co-chair of the Environmental Agency, emphasized the importance of consistent environmental monitoring. He said that the past few years had left a significant mark on the environment in Syria as a whole, and in northern and eastern Syria in particular. The region faces a multitude of environmental challenges that require active action, he added.

Jasim al-Dhaif, a senior representative of the new unit, explained that the environmental protection forces are not only responsible for enforcing environmental regulations, but also take preventive and educational measures. The unit is being set up on the basis of clearly defined ecological criteria established by the Environmental Agency.

The new structure is to be present in all cities and cantons in northern and eastern Syria in the future. Its tasks include combating poaching, preventing illegal logging, and protecting soil, air, and water. Patrols and checks are to be carried out in cooperation with the Environmental Agency in protected areas, forests, and along rivers.

Al-Dhaif pointed out that the unit would be adequately staffed and would be strengthened and expanded from 2026 onwards through a strategic development program. A particular focus will also be placed on preparing for natural disasters. In future, the unit will also be able to respond to emergencies such as floods or forest fires around the clock.

With the establishment of Environmental Protection Forces, the Autonomous Administration aims to establish environmental protection as an integral part of social security. Cooperation with local institutions will help to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment throughout northern and eastern Syria in the long term.

– Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods offered sanctuary to up to 200,000 Kurds, minorities and Arabs, primarily Internally Displaced People (IDPs)

– Neighborhoods faced over a decade of deadly assaults and economic embargo from Islamist opposition factions and Assad regime, policies continued by the new Syrian government

– New assault by the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) comes after repeated violations of 2025 ceasefire agreement aimed at protecting the neighborhoods

– Scores killed and injured and tens of thousands displaced as hospital targeted by STG

– STG assault imperils ongoing negotiations with Kurdish-led Autonomous Democratic Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), raising spectre of renewed civil war

Introduction

Two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo are facing an armed assault by the forces of the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) aimed at seizing control of the neighborhoods. The STG and Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) had reached a March 2025 ceasefire agreement covering the isolated Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, but the subsequent nine months have been marked by escalating tensions culminating in the January 6 assault. 

These neighborhoods had maintained their autonomy from both the Assad government and Islamist opposition factions since the start of the Syrian Civil War, becoming a safe haven for those fleeing violence, persecution and violent repression elsewhere in Aleppo and Syria. However, they have faced ongoing economic, humanitarian and military pressure from both Assad’s forces and the new authorities in Damascus. In this explainer, Rojava Information Center (RIC) provides key information on these isolated neighborhoods, their humanitarian and political significance, the ongoing attacks they have endured over the past decade, and the grave threats they now face.

What and where are Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh?

With a population of only around 10,000 prior to the 2011 outbreak of the Syrian revolution, these Kurdish-majority neighborhoods within Syria’s diverse second-largest city Aleppo soon swelled. While majority-Kurdish, members of the region’s Christian minorities and Arab families displaced by the war have also found a safe haven in these neighborhoods. Different sources estimate the population in these neighborhoods between 100,000 and 200,000 people.  

“At first, the people who arrived had nothing, so an organization for helping the displaced people was built up. Many houses were empty because the Islamist militias had damaged them, or they had been burnt and looted. The organization found homes for those who did not have any money. Families moved into houses that had been abandoned but were still habitable and just needed to be repaired and refurbished. Organizations like the Kurdish Red Crescent also took care of the displaced and distributed blankets and clothes.” – Sheikh Maqsoud Council member.

What was the situation in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh prior to Assad’s fall?

In 2011 Aleppo became one of the centres of the Syrian revolution and saw some of the heaviest fighting of the civil war. Strong local assemblies and communes resisted influence from ISIS and Jabbat al-Nusra. Armed resistance pushed out Assad from eastern Aleppo and the northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh which fell under the protection of the Kurdish People’s Defense Forces (YPG). These neighborhoods were among the first Kurdish regions to rise up against the Assad government, and subsequently endured successive attacks, embargoes and sieges by both Islamist armed groups and pro-Assad forces.

In 2016, Amnesty International described indiscriminate shelling of Sheikh Maqsoud by Islamist groups including Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam as amounting to war crimes. The rights watchdog documented the death of at least 83 civilians, including 30 children, in attacks which Amnesty reported may have involved the use of chlorine, a banned chemical weapon.

By 2016 Assad had regained control over the whole city, with the sole exception of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, which have remained under the political administration of what is now the multi-ethnic Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES). By early 2017, a Turkish invasion targeting the Kurdish-led, multi-ethnic autonomous region had isolated Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh from the contiguous regions under the control of the DAANES. Since then the neighborhoods have governed themselves autonomously while retaining close political and humanitarian ties to the DAANES.

Electricity and water was allowed to enter the districts, while there was also coordination for education provision. This enabled the neighborhood administration to continue building a network of district-level communes and implementing its stated goals of women’s autonomy and ethnic minority participation, retaining political autonomy despite the close presence of hostile forces. 

Following Assad’s recapture of Aleppo, the Kurdish neighborhoods were at times placed under siege by the Assad government preventing the entry of fuel and other essential supplies to exert political pressure on DAANES. These measures led to critical fuel and medicine shortages and worsening humanitarian conditions in the neighborhoods.

What has happened in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh since Assad’s fall?

On November 29, 2024, HTS and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) groups entered Aleppo on the third day of the offensive that toppled the Assad government. Fighting between the former Turkish-backed SNA factions folded into the new Syrian military and the DAANES’ Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) in early 2025 led to two agreements:

The first, known as the March 10 agreement and signed between the SDF and the new Syrian Transitional Government (STG) led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, offered a roadmap for North and East Syria (NES) to integrate into the new Syrian political and military system by the end of 2025. However, negotiations have failed to progress. A second agreement was reached in early April, attempting to bring an end to clashes around the perimeter of the neighborhoods. The neighborhoods were broadly demilitarised, with SDF fighters withdrawing and taking heavy weaponry with them. As per the terms of the agreement, the DAANES’ Asayish (Internal Security Forces) remained to police the neighborhoods with light weapons.

What violence have Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh faced this year?

Despite Assad’s demise, the new Syrian authorities have continued a similar approach of exerting humanitarian and economic pressure on the neighborhoods as a political tool. Residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh have faced intermittent embargos with access to electricity, water, fuel, food and free movement to and from the neighborhood cut off periodically since July when fuel access was cut off for 14 days. 

This approach escalated from late September onwards, when STG forces began constructing earth barriers at checkpoints into the neighborhoods. On October 6 all access to Sheikh Maqsoud was cut off leading to protests by residents and eventually fighting between the Asayish and STG forces, after the latter opened fire on protestors and attempted to enter the neighborhood. 

On December 22, fighting once again broke out between STG forces and Asayish. Hevin Suliman, Co-Chair of the Sheikh Maqsoud Council, told RIC at the time: “This did not come from nowhere. It is connected to the visit of the Turkish delegation to Damascus, led by Hakan Fidan. These factions, though officially under the Syrian Ministry of Defense (MoD), take direct orders from Turkey. The Turkish state has significant influence over Aleppo and controls these factions.”

Meanwhile, bouts of government-led violence against minorities elsewhere in Syria saw over 1500 members of the Alawite minority killed by the STG’s forces in March 2025, and over 1000 members of the Druze minority similarly killed in July 2025. These attacks underscored the risks faced by Kurds and other minorities living in the isolated neighborhoods, particularly following the SDF’s withdrawal as per the ceasefire agreement, with DAANES officials warning that similar violence against their own populations could follow.

What is the current situation in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh?

In January 2026, the latest small-scale skirmishes between the STG and Asayish that have happened for several months beforehand were taken as the pretext for the STG to launch a full-scale assault aimed at seizing control of the neighborhoods. More broadly, the operation came after a sudden breakdown in talks aimed at implementing the March 10 agreement between SDF and the STG, again reportedly as a result of Turkish pressure demanding an end to the negotiations.

The inciting incident occurred on the Deir Hafer front on January 5, 50 kilometers (40 miles) from Aleppo. The STG alleged an SDF drone hit a military police vehicle which the SDF denied. On January 5, Sheikh Maqsoud Asayish reported drone attacks from government forces killed one civilian and injured two others, leading to a rapid escalation. 

Artillery bombardment rapidly escalated into a ground assault, and the neighborhoods are currently in their fifth day of siege and heavy fighting. Since then, Aleppo has seen heavy fighting on the ground as STG forces repeatedly attempted to enter the neighborhoods using tanks and armoured vehicles. Internationally sanctioned groups, formerly part of the Turkish-backed SNA, Hamzat, al-Amshat, Sultan Murad, and Nour al-Din al-Zenki – integrated into the new Syrian Army’s 76th, 62nd, 72nd, and 80th divisions – are reported to be involved in the attacks.

The government has repeatedly shelled or attacked the neighborhoods with drones, destroying or damaging over 300 homes and hitting the only operating hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud several times, leaving the Martyr Khaled Fajr hospital without power since January 8. 13 civilians have been killed and more than 64 are injured, numbers expected to rise significantly in the coming days as more casualties are reported.

Ashrafiyeh has seen particularly heavy fighting as STG forces have repeatedly entered the neighborhood and seized some territory. One person in Ashrafiyeh told RIC, “I was inside a house with some of my cousins when three armed men pointed their guns at us. They were speaking Turkish and took any money and valuables they could find. Many of the fighters who entered the Ashrafiyeh neighborhood were speaking Turkish.”

Each day, the STG forces have opened crossings to allow civilians to leave, and it is estimated that tens of thousands have fled. This includes Kurdish IDPs from Turkish-occupied Afrin who are attempting to return to the nearby region, despite the risks of returning to areas controlled by former SNA factions that have spent years committing violations against civilians with impunity. 

“We left because of the constant bombing and shelling, fearing for our children. We can’t judge whether it’s safe to return or not,” one source told RIC. “We have mixed feelings, between fear and disappointment. We are not returning to Afrin because it is safe, but rather to escape death and stay alive.”

Yesterday, ambulances from the Kurdish Red Crescent attempting to cross from DAANES-held territory to the neighborhoods to retrieve the wounded and bring them to DAANES hospitals have been denied access. The Kurdish Red Crescent have put out an urgent call asking for donations and humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, preparations were made for a convoy of civilians to make their way towards Aleppo, mirroring the actions taken last year at Tishreen Dam. Today, a convoy of hundreds of cars from Kobani, Qamislo, Raqqa and cities across NES made their way to the Deir Hafer crossing in a bid to cross and reach Aleppo.

Conclusion: An End to Co-Existence?

At the time of writing, fighting continues in some areas of Sheikh Maqsoud. The STG has announced full control of the neighbourhoods, a claim strongly denied by the Asayish. The future is unclear for both the civilians who remain in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh and those displaced from their homes by the military operation.

A continued ceasefire and gradual development of stronger intra-communal links with the rest of Aleppo could have offered a blueprint for safe, secure, practically-realisable integration between Syria’s two remaining power blocs in the DAANES and STG. But with the STG seemingly able to use force to seize control of the neighborhoods amid muted international reaction rather than a negotiated settlement, it is unclear how negotiations over NES’ integration are supposed to progress. Rather, the STG’s assault on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh has pushed Syria a step further down the path toward a renewed civil war.

The urgent need for electrical energy increases with the onset of winter, at a time when the North and East Syria region is suffering from continuous targeting by the Turkish state of this vital sector. This includes repeated attacks on power generation stations and the continued withholding of Euphrates River water, leading to a near-total paralysis of dam power plants, which are considered the most important source of electricity in the region.

In this context, Imad Obeid, member of the General Administration of Dams in North and East Syria, explained that the Euphrates River is witnessing an unprecedented drop in water levels due to the decline in water inflows from the Turkish side. The water level of Lake Euphrates has fallen from 302 meters above sea level to less than 295 meters, meaning a loss of more than seven meters in the lake’s level.

He noted that the current water inflow of the Euphrates River from the Turkish side is 250 cubic meters per second, while the 1987 agreement signed between Syria, Iraq, and Turkey stipulates the release of 500 cubic meters per second, to be shared between Syria and Iraq at 42 percent and 58 percent respectively.

 However, Turkey is not adhering to this agreement and has reduced the amount by half since the beginning of 2025. This has led to the depletion of water resources between drinking water, agriculture, and evaporation, and to reliance on the strategic reserves of Lake Euphrates for electricity generation.

Dams Are the Main Sources

Obeid pointed out that this decline has negatively affected electricity generation at the Euphrates River dams—Tishreen Dam, Euphrates Dam, and Qadiran Dam (formerly al-Hurriya)—which form the backbone of electricity production in North and East Syria.

The maximum production capacity of Tishreen Dam is 630 megawatt-hours, but current production does not exceed 50 megawatt-hours due to reduced water inflows. The Euphrates Dam has a maximum capacity of 880 megawatt-hours, while its current production does not exceed 60 megawatt-hours because of the low lake level and limited inflows.

As for Qadiran Dam (formerly al-Hurriya), its maximum production capacity is 90 megawatt-hours, while current production does not exceed 15 megawatt-hours.

Obeid confirmed that the decline in electricity generation at the three dams is directly linked to reduced water inflows from the Turkish side. The Euphrates Dam contains eight turbines, Tishreen Dam six turbines, and Qadiran Dam three turbines. Under normal Euphrates River levels, total production reaches about 1,600 megawatt-hours, but it has now dropped to only 125 megawatt-hours due to the declining water level.

Lack of International Grid Connection

Obeid added that before the events in Syria, the dams were connected to an international electricity grid that included Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon. Currently, this connection is suspended, and only an internal link with the Syrian grid remains. These transmission lines are not ready due to damage sustained during years of war, depriving the region of the opportunity to be supplied with electricity and achieve grid stability.

He noted that dam generation units operate around the clock, and the produced electricity is distributed across various areas of the North and East Syria .

He pointed to an important technical issue, noting that the electricity generation units in the dams are of the vertical Kaplan turbine type. This requires a minimum water head of no less than 40 meters at the Euphrates Dam in order to generate electricity. The head is measured by the difference between the water level upstream and downstream of the dam. As for Tishreen Dam, its turbines require a minimum head of 5 meters, while Qadiran Dam requires 9 meters. Any drop below these levels leads to a halt in electricity production, even if water quantities are available.

Marginalization of Infrastructure

For his part, the Co-Chair of the Energy Authority in North and East Syria, Ziad Rustam, explained that power generation sources in the region were almost nonexistent, as the area had been strategically marginalized, particularly in the energy sector. Out of 14 thermal and gas power plants in Syria, there is only one thermal plant in the Jazira, located in al-Suweidiya, which at its best produced 125 megawatt-hours.

Rustam clarified that the sole plant in al-Suweidiya, due to its age, poor technical condition, and exposure to Turkish warplane strikes two years ago, has become a power plant in name only. Its current production does not exceed 10 megawatts, which is extremely small compared to the Jazira Canton’s needs, which exceed 600 megawatts—meaning it covers no more than 1–2 percent of demand.

He added that the second plant is the Jibsa plant, a small facility established by the Autonomous Democratic Administration in the Jazira region in 2019. It includes three gas turbines, each with a nominal capacity of 10 megawatts. However, actual capacity does not exceed 6 megawatts per turbine, with total production ranging between 12 and 15 megawatts at best. This amount is insufficient even to meet the essential needs for oil production or vital services such as drinking water, mills, hospitals, and healthcare facilities.

Consumption Levels and Possible Solutions

Rustam stated that total electricity generation in North and East Syria—from hydroelectric and gas plants—does not exceed 100 megawatts, while demand across this vast geography exceeds 1,300 megawatts. This means production covers only about 10 percent of actual needs.

He pointed out that current conditions, in addition to the long-standing blockade and the lack of political agreements or official recognition of the Autonomous Administration, have prevented the signing of official contracts with international companies to build new power plants or rehabilitate existing ones. This is compounded by financial and banking complications related to money transfers.

He also noted that ongoing daily Turkish threats discourage any company from investing, due to fears of shelling or systematic sabotage.

Rustam emphasized that energy authorities across the regions are currently focusing on preserving existing dams and gas plants, protecting transmission and generation stations, preventing further deterioration, and ensuring the minimum supply of electricity for vital needs such as drinking water, mills, healthcare facilities, and essential infrastructure that cannot be dispensed with.

Meters Help Ease the Crisis

Ziad Rustam also pointed out that among the measures taken is a project to install electronic electricity meters—prepaid or postpaid—to curb random consumption and rationalize the use of available electricity.

He explained that this project has been ongoing for three years, starting as a pilot in the town of al-Jarniyah, then expanding to cover 70–80 percent of the Tabqa Canton.

He added that it also includes the Euphrates canton in Kobani and its countryside at a rate of 50 percent, as well as areas in Raqqa and the Jazira at varying levels.

In the Jazira Canton, however, coverage does not exceed 10 percent and is limited to some connected villages and specific points in the city of Derik (al-Malikiyah), in addition to certain facilities and hospitals supplied through service lines in Qamishli and Hasaka.

He noted that such projects require further development, pointing out that work is underway to launch the project in Deir ez-Zor during the coming year. He stressed that development is ongoing, both in terms of the quality of meters and methods of billing and payment, as well as transitioning to electronic systems via smartphones.

Rustam pointed out that the fundamental solution lies in building new power generation plants, a matter that is linked to political, security, and economic understandings between North and East Syria and the central state in Damascus. If such consensus is achieved, the door could be opened to investors, and the import of turbines and spare parts could be secured without being targeted.

He noted that the region possesses the raw materials needed to produce energy, such as oil and gas. However, gas turbines are manufactured by a very limited number of global companies—no more than ten—requiring official political, security, and financial guarantees to engage with them.

Coordination Without Exchange

Rustam, also addressed the issue of coordination between the Energy Authority in North and East Syria and the Energy Authority of the Syrian transitional government. He explained that technical communication is ongoing, as the Syrian electricity grid is looped and interconnected. However, there is no exchange of electricity due to the lack of surplus on either side.

He added that the existing interconnection is limited to maintaining voltage stability and protecting internal networks, in addition to coordination to preserve stable water levels for drinking water and irrigation from the reservoirs of the Euphrates Dam and Tishreen Dam.

The Democratic Autonomous Administration, through its specialized institutions, works to enhance agricultural support in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria by implementing integrated projects for seeds, fuel, energy, and water, in addition to developing livestock resources and public bakeries to ensure production sustainability and food security.

In recent years, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has witnessed broad administrative and economic transformations, the most prominent of which was the Executive Council’s decision in October 2024 to merge the Agriculture Directorate with the Economic Directorate. This decision came within the framework of strengthening administrative structures and unifying efforts between the two institutions whose work and areas of specialization closely intersect.

This merger represented an important step toward enhancing institutional performance and increasing the efficiency of planning and implementation across the region, given the strong interconnection between agricultural activity and the broader economic pathway, which relies heavily on plant and animal production and the services connected to them. The merger was not merely a formal administrative adjustment, but rather the outcome of extensive studies conducted by specialized committees that monitored the challenges facing both sectors, such as rising production costs, fragmented authority, duplication of administrative tasks, and disparities in resources between different cantons.

All of this prompted the relevant bodies to adopt a new institutional model that brings together agricultural and economic expertise under one umbrella, ensuring a stronger capacity to design comprehensive and integrated policies that cover agricultural production, economic planning, market oversight, and resource management.

In this context, the Co-Chair of the Agriculture Authority, Sabrin Al-Abdullah, affirmed that the 2024 merger of the Economy and Agriculture Authorities—implemented under the decision of the Executive Council—represented a pivotal turning point in the course of the Autonomous Administration. It was not merely a simple administrative adjustment, but rather a carefully planned strategic step aimed at rebuilding the administrative structure on new foundations that are more coherent, effective, and capable of achieving integration among the institutions and bodies operating across all cantons.

She explained that the merger was the result of extensive and in-depth discussions that lasted for several months, involving economic experts, agricultural engineers, and planning specialists. All participants concluded that unifying the efforts of the two authorities—whose mandates are closely related—was essential to creating a unified administrative framework capable of addressing the economic and agricultural challenges the region has faced in recent years. These challenges include declining resources, rising production costs, unstable climatic conditions, and the limited means available to farmers.

Enhancing the Unified Authority’s Capacity for Planning and Oversight

Sabrin Al-Abdullah stated that the merger paved the way for significant improvements in how annual plans are developed and how agricultural and economic projects are implemented. The unified authority now possesses a broader database, a more comprehensive understanding of the agricultural and economic landscape, and a more accurate ability to assess needs and identify priorities. The merger also reduced the time consumed by administrative procedures, minimized duplication of responsibilities, and improved response speed to the needs of residents and farmers across all cantons.

According to Abdullah, the Jazira Canton, being the region’s primary agricultural center, is “one of the biggest beneficiaries of this step. For the first time, integrated agricultural and economic plans were adopted, linking crop production with market growth, storage needs, and marketing requirements. This has increased harmony between administrations, enhanced efficiency in project follow-up, and strengthened communication channels between all agricultural and service centers.”

“Improving the Work Environment and Strengthening the Co-Chair System”

Regarding the co-chair system, she stated that it “has proven effective in fostering cooperation between men and women within the authority. Decision-making is now based on dialogue, partnership, and joint evaluation, which has positively impacted the work environment. Having qualified male and female staff within a unified authority has facilitated the exchange of expertise, improved mutual understanding, and increased the involvement of young professionals in decision-making positions. This new administrative approach has not only strengthened women’s presence in leadership roles but also enhanced coordination between administrative and technical departments, enabling more precise resource allocation and reinforcing principles of fairness and balance within the authority.”

Higher Levels of Coordination

Al-Abdullah also spoke about her previous experience supervising agricultural departments before the merger, emphasizing that this background helped strengthen the performance of the unified authority—particularly since agriculture is a broad and complex sector that includes crop production, livestock development, water resources, and service projects. She noted that one of her main goals after the merger was to organize the workflow within the authority, activate communication channels between offices, and integrate and train new staff to build a cohesive administrative system that operates as a single team. Improvements in irrigation management, agricultural oversight, price monitoring, and coordination of seasonal projects were among the most notable outcomes of the merger, as all data and indicators are now managed under a single authority, reducing task overlap and improving the speed and quality of implementation.

“Practical Measures to Support Farmers and Reduce Production Costs”

Regarding direct support to farmers, Al-Abdullah explained that “the Agriculture Authority has ensured the provision of sterilized, bagged, ready-to-plant seeds that meet precise scientific standards, offered at calculated prices of $350 in cash and $400 on credit per ton, to help farmers begin their planting season without bearing excessive costs.” She noted that this support followed economic studies aimed at determining prices that consider farmers’ circumstances while ensuring continuous availability of seeds in the market. She added that efforts are currently underway to expand support programs to include improved fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural machinery through specialized service centers, in addition to developing training plans to introduce farmers to modern techniques in irrigation and production—given the importance of improving farming methods and reducing water resource waste.

“A Comprehensive Vision for Food Security and Economic Sustainability”

The Co-Chair of the Agriculture Authority concluded by emphasizing that the unified authority now possesses a long-term vision aimed at achieving stable food security in North and East Syria by increasing local production, developing agricultural and food industries, regulating markets, and strengthening partnerships between various institutions. “The coming years will witness the launch of major agricultural projects, rural development programs, and plans to rehabilitate irrigation networks—steps that will enhance self-reliance and reduce the impact of external market fluctuations, climate instability, and limited resources available to farmers

The everyday people of the region are living remarkably stable lives, the children are going to school, the stores are full of food and products, and – most of the time – the lights turn on and there is water in the tap. In the the dust and heat, the people of Northeast Syria have built a functioning system, organized governance, decent electricity, water, and sanitation, the presence of local police forces, and even traffic and parking enforcement. I was surprised to see, on a main street adjacent to the city center in Qamishlo, near the so-called “Jewish market,” a set of pay-parking spots, hosting several cars with freshly-issued parking tickets on the windshields.

Northeast Syria is protected by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US ally in the fight to defeat ISIS. The region was ravaged by the brutal battles against ISIS, and has not seen a presence of the central Syrian government since 2011. Although the occasional Turkish bomb still falls on the region, and although the new Syrian military has engaged the SDF in small skirmishes at the southern tip of the region, Northeast Syria is full of people doing business, innovating, creating art, getting married, starting families, and living lives of an unlikely peace – given the circumstances.

This stability is especially notable for those who are interested in US policy toward the region, because for the entire year, the US government had been normalizing with the new government in power in Damascus, which controls the other two-thirds of Syria, and largely ignoring the northeast part of the country, which has been a reliable US ally, with US troops stationed in their region. The new government in Damascus is largely made up of militants associated with the religious extremism of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the Al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat Al-Nusra. While I was traveling in the northeast, residents in the Damascus-controlled region were describing cities where police are absent, petty crimes occur frequently, and many people are out of work and can’t pay for basic needs. Many said they hadn’t seen the new government anywhere.

While there, I was able to meet with the co-mayor of Qamishlo, Northeast Syria, a city of about 180,000 residents. From her busy office, she described how the city funds these basic services, in between her assistants poking their heads in the door to ask questions about meeting times and contacts. The city of Qamishlo has 22 employees who go door-to-door through the neighborhoods, and collect 10,000 Syrian pounds (about $1 USD, or 1% of the average worker’s income) from each home. If a family is poor and cannot pay, she says, “the employee will look at their house and situation,” and if they appear poor, they just say thanks and walk away. No penalty. No service cut-off. They just do the compassionate thing and leave, without trying to collect.

I also met with the co-mayor of Hasakeh. Walking past residents bustling into and out of the busy municipal government building in the city center as they clutched papers and stacks of the undervalued Syrian pound, we found the co-mayor in a modest office under the loud whir of an air conditioner. She described the careful task of providing water for the 420,000 residents of the city since 2019 when the Turkish Armed Forces seized the Allouk water station, which was the main water source for the city, closing it down. In addition, in the past few decades, Turkey has built a series of dams on the Euphrates River in the southern part of Anatolia, Turkey, the Kurdish region, which severely restrict the water flow into Syria. The municipal government of Hasakeh has been trucking in water in giant water tankers, which are visible throughout the city. They fill privately-owned rooftop water tanks. In addition, the municipal government coordinates with several NGOs, who truck water in to fill public water stations, so anyone can access the water for drinking, cooking, and light washing. She also mentioned that 20% of residents also have access to water from wells, but this water is salinated and contains other toxins, so can be used only for washing and other purposes. This is paid for by taxation, including both household and business taxes. Business taxes are applied according to the footprint of the business in square meters.

The delivery of services in Northeast Syria is a complex, deliberate, and carefully administered system, which is functioning well. Until recently, when the new Syrian government began attracting refugees back into the Damascus-controlled region, Northeast Syria was more stable and prosperous than the rest of Syria. 

I emphasize this comparison because although the West seems intent on normalizing with the new Syrian government in Damascus, the reality on the ground is that Northeast Syria has substantive power. It must be reckoned with, not ignored. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have over 100,000 professional soldiers, men and women who were trained-and-equipped with help from the US Armed Forces and are battle-hardened over the past decade by the fight against ISIS. The forces of the new Syrian government, including affiliated militias, number at about 35,000 troops, with varied levels of training and experience.

While in Northeast Syria I visited the Free Syrian Women’s Foundation center in Qamishlo. Their women’s centers offer low-cost physical fitness gyms for women, women’s literacy and language classes, artisan workshops, and women’s empowerment lessons. They offer low-cost training centers for women to learn how to open a business in a trade such as tailoring and hairdressing, so that women who leave their husbands have a source of income. They also own and run a mobile health unit for women in rural villages, because traditional Muslim men will often not allow their wives or daughters to travel into town to seek medical care.

At this organization, they are afraid that Syria will become the next Afghanistan, and they will [see] the gains they have made rapidly stripped away.

“When the HTS comes here, everyone will be killed,” said one of the directors.

These women are terrified of the new government in Damascus. “They don’t accept strong women,” the director said. “They don’t accept our consciousness, and we don’t accept theirs. They want women to obey, and we want women to be stronger.”

“I am an old woman, but still, I am ready to pick up the gun to defend myself against the terrorists,” a 66-year old woman told me in Qamishlo, northeast Syria, when asked about women’s rights under the new Syrian government. The woman, who was nearly six feet tall and sturdily built, did not appear to be bluffing.

I heard a similar message when I met with a representative from the YPJ Women’s Protection Units. These women’s units of the SDF are known as the Kurdish women who battled ISIS in the trenches and won their freedom against the brutal system of ISIS, wherein they may have become slaves. These women’s militias are cautiously optimistic, but at the same time are remaining vigilant, trained, equipped, and prepared, in case they need to fight a new battle for their freedom.

The women of Northeast Syria carry the memory of extremists who abused and executed women who were too headstrong. They saw how independent women in Raqqa were dragged to the city center by ISIS and beheaded for the crime of speaking back to their husbands. They have now borne witness to violations, murders, and kidnappings of Alaawi women in Latakia in March. This time, it was not ISIS committing atrocities, but the very militants who now are making up the Syrian military. The world has additionally witnessed further terror in July and August — against women, men, doctors, patients, children, the Druze people — by these same militants in Suweyda, southern Syria. This prompted even the Israeli government to engage their military, until the violence ceased. While the new Syrian government promises to investigate the horrific events in southern Syria, the people of Northeast Syria have already arrived at the conclusion that the new Syrian government is to blame for the atrocities.

These women fear that, if the northeast falls to extremism, they will lose their freedom — and possibly their lives, just as Alaawi and Druze women did earlier this year.

For most of this year, US policy on Syria has focused on rapid normalization with the new president, Ahmed Al Sharaa, instead of slowing down and seeing whether he can even assert control outside Damascus. It also remains to be seen how the new Syrian government will respect the rights of women, and protect the gains of the women in Northeast Syria, or whether the region will take the painful path of Afghanistan, where women’s rights were rapidly put in shackles and hidden under a veil when the US withdrew support from the region.

The summer heat has now faded and given way to cooler weather. In December, the new Syrian government will have been in power in Damascus for a full year. Damascus has been in negotiations with the DAANES over how much and how soon Northeast Syria will be integrated into the rest of Syria. These negotiations are taking place on the edge of a knife – the religious extremism of the new government in Damascus pushes in the opposite direction than the more democratic ideologies in the northeast.

No one wants to see Syria fall back into civil war. But the task of uniting a diverse country with many different peoples is not a small one. A lasting solution will be one that reckons with the realities of an intact, effective government in Northeast Syria, as well as a large number of women who do not wish to give up their gains.

The project aims to ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of residents who have long endured chronic water shortages and frequent cuts across the governorate. 

Residents resort to individual solutions

In neighborhoods such as al-Bughayliyah, prolonged outages—sometimes lasting up to ten consecutive days—have forced residents to find alternative ways to secure water.

Ayman Ahmad Shahada, a resident of al-Bughayliyah, told North Press that many families have installed private pipelines stretching up to five kilometers at their own expense to reach sources near the Euphrates Water Station.

While these efforts provide temporary relief, Shahada warned that random connections have increased pressure on the public network, urging authorities to regulate extensions and conduct regular maintenance.

Station to serve half a million residents

Ahmad al-Mousa, Director-General of the Public Water and Sanitation Authority of the Syrian transitional government in Deir ez-Zor, said the rehabilitation project will provide clean water to about 500,000 residents, from Ayyash in the west to Jaffra in the east.

He noted that around 80 percent of the station’s equipment was destroyed during the war, particularly during battles against the Islamic State (ISIS). The facility will be revived with four new pumping units, each equipped with a 200-kilowatt motor capable of pumping 900 cubic meters per hour, giving the station a daily production capacity of 60,000 cubic meters.

Engineers emphasized that ensuring water quality is a top priority. The purification process includes sedimentation, filtration, and chemical treatment, with activated carbon used to remove odors and other chemicals added to maintain proper pH levels and reduce heavy metals. The project is expected to be completed within four months. 

Modern monitoring technologies

Amer al-Naji, Director of the Euphrates Water Station, said UNICEF support has enabled the installation of advanced laboratory equipment to monitor key quality indicators such as chlorine levels, turbidity, and hardness.

He added that the introduction of the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system allows remote control of pumps and equipment, enabling real-time monitoring and reducing manual intervention.

Once operational, the station will pump about 2,700 cubic meters of water per hour, supplying all neighborhoods of Deir ez-Zor and its surrounding countryside.

Al-Mousa added that al-Masrab village, which has been without water for more than 16 years, will begin receiving supply within 20 days, once installations are complete.

The 2nd Mesopotamia Water Forum (MWF), organized to protect water resources, defend the right to water, and ensure ecological justice, continued on its third day at the ÇandAmed Congress and Culture Center. During the event, proposals from two days of forum and workshop discussions were shared. Many international guests, ecology activists, representatives of civil society organizations, and political parties attended the forum.

On the third day and last day of the forum, participants presented their suggestions and measures to be taken in the future. Following the discussion of proposals, it was announced that the final declaration would be released ten days later, incorporating the collected views.

Throughout the three-day discussions, participants emphasized that water is not a scarce resource, but rather that the main issue lies in the unequal access to it. A proposal to recognize rivers as “living entities” received strong support. Participants stated that this approach represents not only a legal struggle but also the beginning of a broader social movement. Representatives from Iraq reported that 80 percent of the country’s water resources had diminished, leading to the displacement of millions. Participants from North and East Syria stated that water cuts constitute a violation of the right to life, and proposed the formation of a delegation to establish democratic pressure mechanisms concerning the Allouk Water Station. Representatives from Turkey drew attention to the impacts of dams, mining, and energy projects on water resources. The forum also highlighted the sacredness of water in Yazidi, Zoroastrian, and Nestorian beliefs.

The main proposals forming the framework of the final declaration were listed as follows:

• Develop new policies against mining activities in river basins.
• Draft international agreements to protect the right to water, ensuring that such agreements are implemented with the direct participation of local communities, and establish relevant commissions.
• Create common digital platforms that allow people to connect quickly.
• Develop shared policies against the pressure of industrial livestock farming on water resources.
• Collect accurate data on water among communities and establish joint research commissions.
• Form a delegation to build democratic pressure mechanisms regarding the Allouk Water Station in Rojava.
• Collect accurate data on water among communities and establish joint research commissions.

The forum’s slogan was “Water is life, water is peace.”

After the conclusion of the forum, participants from various regions visited historical and cultural sites in Amed, including Cemilpaşa Mansion, the Dengbêj House, Fiskaya, the Ten Arches Bridge, and Mount Kırklar.

The 2nd Mesopotamia Water Forum, organised by the Amed (Diyarbakir) Metropolitan Municipality, the Mesopotamia Water Forum and the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, has begun. Over the three-day forum, discussions will address not only the water resources of Mesopotamia but also the water crisis and related policies in Iran, Iraq and Syria. The forum, which includes participants from the Middle East, Turkey and UNESCO, will also seek solutions to the policies of the capitalist system that has turned water into a tool of war.

Ecologist Beyza Üstün, one of the participants of the forum, drew attention to the deepening attacks on water resources and capital-driven policies particularly in the lands of Mesopotamia. Üstün said: “Water is liberated together with peace,” and added that water, once disconnected from its natural flow, has turned into a crisis and that a struggle must be waged against this.

Üstün said at the second Mesopotamia Water Forum that water policies in the region threaten both nature and societies and reacted to the transformation of water into an instrument of capital accumulation. She stated that the reason for bringing together the peoples of the Mesopotamian basin, ecology organisations, activists, politicians and researchers in this forum is to “defend water and life,” adding: “We are here as those who care about water policies and those who want to protect water.” She underlined that this process is not only an environmental struggle but also a political and social one.

The Mesopotamian basin is under a deep assault

According to Beyza Üstün, water policies in the Middle East are undergoing a profound transformation, particularly through Western Mesopotamia. The efforts of the capitalist system and nation-states to control water resources directly threaten life in the region.

Üstün said: “The capitalist system, backed by imperialism, imposes international decisions on nation-states. In this process, natural assets, ecosystems and fundamentally water, which is the source of all living beings, are being commodified.” She recalled that the decisions taken at the 1992 Dublin Conference removed water from being a human right and turned it into a commercial commodity.

Water has been cut off from its natural flow

Üstün stated that the water policies implemented in Turkey and neighbouring riparian countries have long been destroying nature and added: “Through dams, energy projects and investments by large corporations, water has been cut off from its natural flow; the common asset of peoples, living beings and entire ecosystems has been turned into part of capital accumulation.” She said the process is destroying not only water but also forests, agricultural lands and ecological balances: “When water becomes inaccessible, life also becomes inaccessible. Who has access to water? Only those with money and capital. State policies legitimise this.”

Water has become a war strategy

Beyza Üstün said that policies carried out through the control of water deepen regional conflicts, recalling the examples of Israel–Palestine and Rojava, and stated that water has now become a part of war strategies. Üstün said, “To seize water means to seize life, and this is a direct intervention in the lives of peoples,” and added that wars serve as instruments of capitalist and imperialist intervention.

We must struggle for all living beings

Üstün stated that in order to break this hegemony, it is necessary to resist capitalism, patriarchal mentality and capital-oriented interventions carried out under the pretext of security policies: “Today, as those who defend water, we are resisting this domination that invades every area of nature with mines, HEPPs, WPPs and SPPs, not only for our own lives but for all living systems. The purpose of this forum is to discuss ways to protect water and alternative forms of life against the system. We are not talking about controlling water but about controlling the system that interferes with water. We are discussing how we can sustain life without condemning it to the capitalist system,” she said, summarised the direction of the forum.

What we call the climate crisis is a water crisis

Beyza Üstün said that the crises experienced around the world are rooted in interventions in the water cycle.

Üstün said, “What we call the climate crisis is actually a water crisis. Because the water cycle has been disrupted, atmospheric balance has changed. Storms, droughts and floods are all the result of these interventions.”

Üstün stated that the conflicts created by wars and systems will now take shape around access to water: She said, “The real danger is the gap between those who can access water and those who cannot. No living being can survive in a world without water. For this reason, we are waging this struggle not only for people but for the continuation of life.”

Finally, Üstün underlined that the liberation of water is also the key to peace and said: “The liberation of water is peace. With peace, water is liberated and peoples liberate water. As subjects of this struggle, we come together here, we debate, and we seek our path together.”

The Ilısu Dam has brought nothing but harm to farmers in the region. Before the dam, the Siirt pistachio was renowned for its unique flavor. But after the drought caused by the dam, the pistachios began to rot and turn black.

Across Kurdistan, dozens of hydroelectric power plant (HPP) projects are under construction or have already been built. These projects, present in many provinces, have forced millions to migrate, submerged villages under water, and wiped out farmland. In Siirt alone there are eight dams, and nearly every stream in the province has been targeted for new hydroelectric projects. The Ilısu Dam, which came into operation in 2020, caused mass displacement and devastation across three provinces and destroyed the historic town of Hasankeyf. For local farmers, it has meant nothing but loss. Once famous for its flavor, Siirt pistachios have been devastated by the drought, leaving growers unable to harvest crops and forcing many to migrate in search of work.

Locals driven into poverty

Mehmet Sıddık Evin, who has relied on pistachios for his livelihood for nearly 30 years, is among those affected. Speaking from his orchard, he explained how the dam has left farmers with heavy losses in recent years. He said drought and water shortages are causing the pistachios to turn black, and warned that the dam is driving the local population into poverty.

Pistachios burned, orchards dried out

“Before, it was very good,” Evin said, adding: “I’ve made my living from pistachios for 30 years. But after the Ilısu Dam, our pistachios no longer grow. Around 70% of the people here live off pistachios. Because of these dams and this water, they left us with nothing. No orchards, no means of survival. Our harvests used to be good, but now the pistachios either burn up or don’t grow at all. If they don’t find a solution, the only livelihood left for people will disappear. Before the dam, they ran a thousand advertisements saying agriculture would improve, that people would benefit. But the dams brought us nothing except poverty, hardship, and oppression. There’s water and dams everywhere, yet in our own land we are living like Karbala.”

Neither livelihood nor production left

Evin added that the water crisis in the village has reached critical levels: “There’s no water in the village. We can’t give water to our animals, and all our orchards have dried up. No livelihood remains, no orchards or fields. We only produce pistachios, and if that’s gone, we’ll be left unemployed. Seasonal workers here rely on these fields in the summer. If there are no pistachios, they too will be forced to migrate.”

The dam is forcing us to leave

“I don’t want to leave my land, my homeland,” Evin said, adding: “But this dam is forcing us to migrate. While the state and companies get richer, we have become poorer. If things go on like this, there will no longer be such a thing as the Siirt pistachio. We don’t know what to do or how to survive.”

Ahin Hussein, head of the Laboratories Department at the Kobani Environment Board, told North Press that the facility will include four main sections dedicated to water, soil, air, and geological analyses.

“The water section will measure acidity and alkalinity (pH), conduct organic and inorganic assessments such as BOD and COD, and evaluate turbidity,” Hussein said.

She added that the soil section will focus on fertility, alkalinity, and salinity, as well as identifying essential elements for different soil types.

According to Hussein, the third section will analyze air quality, measuring gases such as carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane.

The geological section, she noted, will determine groundwater depth using specialized equipment. The laboratory will also feature devices for measuring gas concentrations in sewage networks.

Regarding the geological section, Hussein pointed out it will determine groundwater depth using specialized geological equipment, and the laboratory will also house devices to measure gas concentrations in sewage networks.

The laboratory will be established in the “Martyr Rojenk” plant nursery, west of Kobani, and will be staffed by engineers specialized in environmental analysis. 

Hussein said the required equipment will arrive from China within a month. She added that the laboratory will also be accessible to university students specializing in agriculture and biology, offering them a space to conduct scientific research.

In the south of the city, a new pipeline with a length of 4.2 kilometers and a diameter of 160 millimeters is currently being laid. It will connect around 7,000 households in the Wafa district directly to the network. Until now, residents there have been dependent on water tankers, which has resulted in additional costs. Construction work is scheduled to be completed in early September.

Three wells at the Hanida station had already been cleaned and two pumps replaced in August. As the existing capacity does not meet demand, a third 250 hp pump is now to be installed. The city will also receive two additional pumps, each with a capacity of 180 hp, which can pump up to 300 cubic meters of water per hour.

The co-chair of the al-Mansoura People’s Council, Salih al-Salih, explained that the projects are intended to stabilize the supply situation in the long term. In addition to al-Mansoura itself, surrounding villages will also benefit from the new facilities.

The administration emphasized that the investments are not only intended to strengthen the infrastructure, but also to ensure a secure supply for the population in the long term.

During the meeting, held at the General Administration of Water, Abu Zeid said that the Syrian government is fully prepared to cooperate with international organizations to ensure the station’s continued operation and to improve the water situation in the governorate, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

Since late 2019, the Alouk station, located in the eastern countryside of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), has been under the control of Turkish forces and affiliated Syrian armed factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), depriving residents of Hasakah and its countryside – run by the AANES – of their main source of drinking water.

Representatives of the ICRC and UNICEF expressed their readiness to provide support and strengthen coordination, stressing that access to drinking water is a fundamental right guaranteed under international conventions, according to SANA.

On June 24, a UN and Syrian Red Crescent convoy consisting of five vehicles crossed through the Shirak crossing in the west of Derbasiyah town, heading toward the Alouk water station in the countryside of Sere Kaniye.

For years, the village, under Syrian government control, suffered from official neglect after water pumping stations stopped operating in 2011. With no response to repeated appeals, residents were forced to drink untreated water directly from the Euphrates River—a source increasingly polluted and linked to widespread illnesses, including kidney disease, gastrointestinal infections, and skin disorders.

Jassem Khalifa al-Hussein, 40, a resident of the village, told North Press that they had no other choice. They did not drink the water because it was clean, but because they had to.  

“Since 2011, water has not reached our area, despite appeals and pleas for help, and despite the illnesses that have spread,” Khalifa said. “No one has responded to our requests or offered an initiative. This is a community-led initiative, an idea born among the villagers so we could rely on ourselves.”

The initiative, supported by contributions from local residents, community leaders, and expatriates, is the first of its kind in the area to be entirely self-funded. The Water Authority in Deir ez-Zor is providing technical oversight, while villagers cover the costs. Construction of the sedimentation basin alone has reached about one billion Syrian pounds (approximately $100,000), with work ongoing and no final budget yet set.

In acts of solidarity, one resident donated the land for the station, while another gave part of his property to open an access road for transporting construction materials. Once completed, the station is expected to provide clean drinking water to around 1,500 homes—serving roughly 7,000 people—and end years of reliance on unsafe sources.

Neighboring villages, such as al-Kharita, face similar shortages. “We depend on the Shumaytiyah Station, but it only supplies water one day a week,” said local resident Abdulkarim al-Shaibi. This forces many to either draw directly from the river or buy costly tanker water—a reality common across much of western Deir ez-Zor’s countryside.

Residents hope their project will inspire similar community-driven initiatives across the region, improving infrastructure and basic services so that local communities are no longer left vulnerable to recurring crises.

Berivan Silo, co-chair of the Water Directorate in Hasakah, told North Press that the forum focused on key issues concerning the state of water resources in the region and the challenges they face.

She explained that the first session examined the situation in the Jazira region, addressing agricultural challenges and growing pressure on water resources. The second and third sessions focused on Kobani, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor, highlighting the decline in the Euphrates River’s water level, the impact of dams, and problems related to drinking and irrigation water, as well as pollution and its humanitarian consequences.

According to Silo, the fourth and fifth sessions addressed the use of water as a weapon of war and control over water sources as a political tool, warning of the serious implications for food security. The discussions also underscored the direct impact of water shortages on women and children.

At the conclusion of the forum, participants issued several recommendations, including the development of a unified water strategy to establish an integrated framework for managing water resources across northeast Syria.

The forum also stressed the importance of documenting violations related to the use of water as a weapon, addressing international organizations on the issue, and amending agricultural policies by promoting rain-fed agriculture. Participants further called for urgent international engagement, appealing to humanitarian and international organizations to highlight the humanitarian disaster caused by water deprivation and to exert political pressure to stop the use of water as a weapon.

The Hajin Educational Complex, under the Education and Training Authority of the DAA in Deir Ezzor, has launched an environmental and developmental project in the “Al-Wasat” and “Girls’ Secondary” schools in Hajin city. The project includes installing solar energy systems and renovating classrooms.

The project involves setting up a solar energy system consisting of 16 solar panels in each school, supported by storage batteries and conversion devices, including a V48 device and tubular batteries, to generate approximately 40 amperes of clean energy. This ensures a stable and environmentally friendly electricity source.

Additionally, the project includes installing a water purification station in each school, with a production capacity of up to 100 liters per hour, to provide safe drinking water for students and educational staff.

The main work on the project is expected to be completed within this week, with plans to implement similar projects in other schools to benefit students at the start of the new academic semester. Concurrently, efforts are underway to rehabilitate several classrooms in the two schools to enhance the educational environment.

The project was carried out during the summer break to take advantage of the period, reduce school operational costs by relying on renewable energy, and support essential services like electricity and water. It also aims to raise students’ awareness of the importance of clean energy.

Representatives of the Educational Complex emphasized that this initiative is part of a comprehensive plan by the DAA to develop school infrastructure in the governorate. They noted that the project will contribute to improving the quality of education by providing a suitable learning environment.

According to the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria Region, the total amount of electricity generated during the first half of 2025 reached 715.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh).

The electricity output was distributed as follows: Euphrates Dam: 537,520,000 kWh, Al-Hurriya Dam: 106,616,000 kWh, and Tishrin Dam: 71,400,000 kWh. 

Administrator Imad Obeid stated that the Euphrates Dam’s upstream water level dropped from 301.34 meters at the beginning of the year to 297.35 meters by mid-June, with an average water inflow of 329 m³/s and an average irrigation discharge of 53.71 m³/s.

Technical operations included extensive maintenance of electromechanical equipment, testing of heat exchangers, replacement of current transformers, rehabilitation of ventilation networks and power feed transformers. Additionally, continuous efforts are underway to rescue the Tishrin Dam, which went out of service earlier this year due to military activities. Work is ongoing to restore its operations and repair its damaged infrastructure and equipment.

Women striving to preserve the social structure, make Mount Kizwan (Mount Abdulaziz), located in the Jazira Canton of North and East Syria, and its surroundings green. This year, what the most affected women farmers in the region is the low rainfall.

Water shortage in Wasta

One of the villages suffering from water shortage in the region is Wasta, a village located on the foothills of Mount Kizwan, 80 kilometers southwest of Til Temir, a town in northeastern Syria. The village suffers from a water shortage due to the lack of a water network providing drinking water to the village. The villagers fetch water from a water source located 40 km away from the village. The water shortage also affects agriculture in the village.

Symbol of resistance: Kînya tree

Despite all the challenges, the women have managed to make their village green. In the village, a tree called “Kînya” by villagers attracts notice. The tree planted in October 2019, one year before the Turkish state’s attacks on Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ayn), is now seven years old. The tree was previously watered by water provided from the Alouk water station; however, the women in the village have used salty water to grow the tree since the Turkish state and Turkish-backed armed groups occupied the station and stopped the Alouk water station from pumping water. The tree stands firm in the village despite the salty water, becoming a symbol of resistance.

Take a break in the shade of the tree…

I planted the tree in 2019 to take a break in its shade, Meha El-Hesen told us. “We cannot plant more trees due to the lack of opportunity. We dug a well 10 years ago and we use the water of the well to water the tree. However, the water of the well is salty. We earn a living by raising sheep and cultivating corn. I planted it and now it is seven years old. I planted it to take a break with other women in its shade. Last year, I planted four more trees.”

Sediya Cabir also earns a living by raising sheep. She also suffers from the water shortage in the village. “You cannot see any green space in the village because of the low rainfall and the lack of irrigation. We drive our tractor for 40 km to fetch water from a water source in the village of Xera.”

Trees have a special importance for the villagers, Sediya Cabir told us. “Trees should be protected. I have planted four trees in the village until now; however, sheep ate their leaves. Walls should be built around the trees to protect them. We also suffer from power outages. We use solar panels but they do not provide sufficient power.”

Til Temir – Mount Kizwan (Mount Abdulaziz), located in the Jazira Canton of North and East Syria, is known for its tree diversity and natural beauty; however, armed groups such as Al-Nusra Front and ISIS, cut down almost all trees in the mountain when they controlled the area.

90% of trees on Mount Kizwan were cut down between 2011 and 2015, according to the Ecology Committee of the People’s Municipality. When ISIS took control of the area, ISIS members and the local residents cut down trees to meet their need for firewood.

Fines against those who cut down trees

According to the Ecology Committee of Mount Kizwan, the cutting down of trees in the mountain has increased significantly for two years. Fines for cutting down trees without a permit in North and East Syria range from 500 to one million Syrian pounds, according to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria’s Penal Code. Fines for cutting down trees to build a house range from two to three million Syrian pounds [note: currency conversion is currently around $100 US to 1 million Syrian pounds].

‘We only cut down dried trees’

The Ecology Committee of Mount Kizwan carries out awareness-raising activities in villages close to the mountain in order to protect nature. “We need permission to cut down dried trees,” said Meha İd El-Hilü, who lives in a village close to the mountain.

“Since we need firewood to cook and get warm in winter, we get permission to cut down dried trees. We only cut down dried trees because we do not want to destroy nature.”

People living in the villages on the foothills of Mount Kizwan plant trees in order to reforest Mount Kizwan. “Trees produce oxygen and help prevent floods. We suffer from the water shortage because some villages do not have water wells or a water system. Planting olive trees and roses requires a lot of water. Water is as important as trees because we need water for our trees.”

Call for planting trees

Meha İd El-Hilü called on all villagers in the area to plant trees to protect nature. “Trees are one of the most important things in our life. Every family must plant two or three trees because we must work together to reforest the mount. We need projects that aim to increase green areas against deforestation.”

After years under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and burdened with inherited debt, the Municipality of Muş has drawn attention with its projects and municipal efforts since its transfer to the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). Muş Municipality, won for the first time by the DEM Party and its predecessor movements, has stood out over the past year for its policies on women and children. With initiatives such as a women’s rest center, a women’s condolence house, and a women’s affairs department, the municipality is now preparing to establish a City Women’s Assembly to further strengthen women’s social participation.

In an evaluation of the past year’s work given to Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Muş co-mayor Tuba Sayılğan stated that they have adopted a participatory approach to local governance in close cooperation with the people, and that they prioritize projects focused especially on women and children. She emphasized that winning a city long governed by the ruling party through the co-mayorship model was a historic achievement. Framing it as a significant step toward socializing the co-mayorship system, Sayılğan explained: “The most important place where we can democratize and socialize our co-mayorship model is within local governments. With that in mind, all of our work within the municipality centers around this model, as well as efforts for women’s empowerment and policies for children.”

Water issue will be resolved

Tuba Sayılğan noted that one of the most pressing problems in Muş is the water supply. She said, “We will resolve this issue in the near future. Following our meetings with the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ), we have decided that control over the water supply will be fully transferred to the municipality. We are doing everything we can to eliminate this problem entirely, and it will be solved soon. Of course, water is not a luxury, it is a basic necessity. It was women who were most affected by this issue. Although the entire community needs water, it was women who suffered the consequences. This change will lighten their burden. They were forced to wait at fountains and carry the water themselves. The activation of the drinking water facility will benefit women the most.”

Women’s cooperative to be launched

Sayılğan also highlighted a strong demand for employment opportunities from women in the city and said, “Through various social projects, we are working to strengthen women’s employment. As soon as we took over the municipality, we began focusing on women and children. We established a women’s cooperative where only women will be employed. The cooperative will produce tomato paste. We have already applied for a grant to support this initiative. If our project is approved, the entire process, from the female farmer who grows the tomatoes to the factory that processes them, and from the factory to the cooperative, will involve women at every stage. It will create a space for sustainable women’s employment. We are also planning other projects with this same goal. These initiatives will be implemented through both the municipality and the cooperative.”

Protocol signed to combat gender-based violence

Tuba Sayılğan emphasized that the rate of violence against women in Muş is alarmingly high. She recalled that a protocol had been signed with the Muş Bar Association to address this issue: “We signed and implemented a protocol to ensure that women who experience violence can access legal rights and receive counseling services. In addition, as the municipality, we carried out various activities and workshops against violence by bringing together both our municipal staff and the wider community.” Sayılğan also pointed out the lack of dedicated spaces where women in Muş can seek help or express their concerns. She said, “There is no woman-specific center in the city where women can speak about their problems or access support. That’s why we have completed the infrastructure for our Women’s Solidarity Center. We will implement this project as soon as possible. Women will be able to access legal and psychological support there, as well as other services depending on their needs.”

Activities planned for youth

Tuba Sayılğan stated that new projects and activities are also being planned for young people and children. She noted that they will continue to organize concerts and seminars for youth. Recalling a major concert held on 15 May to celebrate Kurdish Language Day, which brought together thousands of young people, Sayılğan said: “Muş has long been a place where both youth and women have been subjected to assimilation by the system. As the municipality, we carried out a series of events as part of the Language Day and organized a festival. We once again witnessed how deeply Kurdish youth long for activities in their own language. Our efforts to preserve and promote the Kurdish people’s language, culture, and art will certainly continue. We will keep creating these spaces and expanding our activities.”

City Women’s Assembly to be established

Tuba Sayılğan noted that one of the biggest problems in the city is that women have not been able to participate in local decision-making processes. She said that this situation has begun to change, at least in part. Sayılğan explained: “For years, municipal work was carried out entirely by male directors and male employees. Both in the field and within the municipality, women were always assigned to supportive roles. Since we took office, we have prioritized the presence of women not only in fieldwork but also within the municipality’s internal operations. We have made sure that women, including technical staff, are actively included in decision-making processes. While we have managed to change this within the municipality, the same issue still exists in the field. To address this, we have decided to establish a City Women’s Assembly after visiting all relevant institutions. Through this assembly, we will create a space where all women in the city can participate, express their concerns freely, and find collective solutions to the problems they face. With the founding of this assembly, we aim to struggle not only for women’s rights in the city but also for broader solutions to the city’s challenges.”

A newly published report has exposed the devastating environmental toll of oil pollution in North and East Syria, known as Rojava, where communities near the Gir Zero oil fields are grappling with toxic air, rising cancer cases, and barren farmland. Written by journalist Philippe Pernot and released on Reporterre on 12 May, the investigation highlights how years of war, Turkish airstrikes, and neglected infrastructure have turned vital oil reserves into a source of ecological and public health disaster. The crisis now threatens both lives and the fragile future of the region’s post-conflict recovery.

“The air is totally unbreathable here. We have about 50 cases of cancer reported per 500 inhabitants. And we all have a tumour in us that just waits to reveal itself,” Ali Thelaj, a local nurse told Reporterre. Many families stated that relatives had suffered terminal diseases due to pollutants, while others showed skin ailments, among other symptoms.

Flowing from the Gir Zero fields is what’s known locally as the “river of death”, Pernot said. It is full of wastewater and petroleum, which is a direct result of Turkish bombardments of oil refineries and conflict-hampered regional development.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) have controlled most of Syria’s northeast oil field since 2017, after the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS). Assad’s regime purchased oil from northern Syria even when those areas were not under regime control, trading in oil out of mutual necessity.

Much of the region’s economy relies heavily on oil reserves—since little else can be cultivated in the arid landscape. It was a bitter exchange between enemies: those living in Rojava had few other resources to sustain economic activity, and the Assad regime was fully aware of this, Pernod explained.

During the civil war, Assad and various militant groups financed their operations through the oil fields and refineries in the region. Safe and environmentally sound extraction practices were entirely neglected, the report noted, and the refineries became frequent targets of airstrikes by opposing forces. After the Kurdish-led forces recaptured the area, many of the refineries were deemed toxic and shut down.

Furthermore, the outdated infrastructure poses a major challenge and hinders the ecological goals of the Rojava Revolution, the region’s pioneering social movement emerging during the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Various environmental initiatives have attempted to resolve the pollution issues and the extreme aridity of the land, but remain limited. While ongoing sanctions on Syria continue to restrict the region’s economic activity, crude oil remains an essential resource—still refined using these ageing machines and factories, despite the associated risks.

Meanwhile, Turkish forces have systematically bombed the refineries and power plants in Rojava, on one occasion early last year causing nearly one billion dollars of damage in a single attack, Pernod reported according to the power plant’s administration. The attack led to a major power blackout and widespread humanitarian crisis.

Mohammed Ahme, co-director of the environmental council in Qamishlo told Reporterre:

 “Turkey deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure in north-eastern Syria with more than a thousand bombings. They targeted water treatment plants, dams, power plants and even bakeries and hospitals. These attacks generate enormous pollution (up to 200 kilometres around) and a cut in services affecting the lives of the region’s inhabitants.”

A catastrophe at the Oudah oil refinery was a particularly grim example of Turkish sabotage. Director Mohammad Sino recalled that the facility was bombed up to six times a day in December 2023. Journalists from Reporterre, who interviewed him, visited the site – destroyed by a missile on 15 January 2024 – and found it in ruins. When it was destroyed, approximately 35,000 barrels of oil spilled into the surrounding fields.

Farmers say that almost nothing grows there anymore. Nevertheless, Kongra Star, an AANES women’s organisation, managed to construct a greenhouse in the area after the spill and remain hopeful that the land can one day be fertile again. However, such a transformation will require far more than local initiatives alone.

For farmers like Ahmed Al-Hilal, the wait to irrigate crops has become a distressingly long ordeal. Al-Hilal, who relies on irrigation canals fed by the Euphrates Dam, says he often waits for days—sometimes up to ten—to water his wheat fields.

“Ten days ago, the water levels were still tolerable,” he told North Press. “The weather was cooler and more humid, which helped mitigate some of the effects. But now, as summer begins, the heat and dryness are compounding the impact of the water shortage. The crops are suffering badly.”

Al-Hilal farms in the Tenth Line area east of Hattin Farm, located north of Raqqa city. According to him, the area depends heavily on scheduled water rotations, but when it’s time for irrigation, the water levels are too low to adequately nourish the crops. This inconsistency threatens to destroy the entire growing season for local farmers.

Water Crisis Rooted in Policy and Climate

Since February 2020, Turkey has significantly reduced the flow of water into Syria via the Euphrates River, contrary to international water-sharing agreements. This long-term policy, coupled with recurrent drought and heatwaves across the region, has led to severe declines in river levels, hampering the function of irrigation systems that local agriculture depends on.

Mohammad Ibrahim, another farmer from the Kasrat region south of Raqqa, emphasized that the water scarcity has intensified their struggles amid the ongoing drought. “The irrigation isn’t properly organized,” he explained. “There are frequent issues with pump stations, and the water is not being distributed fairly.”

He recounts frequent disputes erupting between farmers over water allocation. “Sometimes one farmer uses more than his share, or delays the release of water, which sparks arguments. In one instance, my cousin couldn’t irrigate his land because another farmer diverted the water at the last moment. A fight broke out.”

Systemic Failures and Infrastructure Needs

The problem, farmers say, is not just the water itself, but also poor management of what limited resources remain. According to Ibrahim, irrigation supervisors often report that only one or two pumps are operational at a time, severely restricting water output and leading to frequent scheduling conflicts.

North Press obtained figures from the Raqqa Civil Council’s Irrigation Office, revealing that Raqqa hosts 25 pumping stations comprising 102 pumping units. Of these, 9 are currently non-functional due to damage or technical failures. Repairing these units requires financial resources beyond the capabilities of the local administration and calls for immediate support from international aid organizations.

Raqqa has approximately 96,000 hectares of irrigated agricultural land, of which 43,000 hectares rely directly on these pumping stations. The Balikh Canal, one of the primary irrigation conduits connected to the Tel Al-Saman Station, is 155 km long and irrigates a substantial portion of this land. Other key canals include:

• Lower Al-Salhabiyah Canal: 60 km long, irrigating 20,000 hectares
• Upper Al-Salhabiyah Canal: 25 km long, serving 3,000 hectares
• Bir Al-Hashm Canal: 20 km long, supporting 10,000 hectares

Most of these canals are in urgent need of maintenance, and delays in repairs are worsening the already fragile agricultural ecosystem.

Local Officials Raise Alarms

Sheikh Nabi Khalil, head of operations at Raqqa’s Irrigation Office, attributes the root cause of the crisis to the dramatic drop in the Euphrates Dam’s reservoir levels, which he links directly to Turkey’s restriction of water flow.

“We are currently drafting plans to reduce water waste,” Khalil told North Press. “We urge farmers to be mindful of how they irrigate their crops and to avoid water-intensive farming of crops like sesame, yellow corn, and watermelon seeds.”

He directed a strong appeal to the United Nations and international organizations, warning that continued water blockage by Turkey could lead to a full-scale food crisis in a region where agriculture is the main source of income and sustenance for thousands of families.

Regional and Political Dimensions

In late April 2025, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) issued a dire warning that the Tabqa Dam could be rendered inoperative within a month if the drought and water shortage persist. The Tishrin Dam, another major hydropower and irrigation facility, had already gone offline in recent months due to ongoing conflict and operational damage.

AANES’s statement also criticized Turkey’s breach of international water agreements, noting that current inflows into Syria have dropped to just 250 cubic meters per second, barely half of the amount stipulated under previous bilateral accords with Iraq and Syria.

The administration emphasized that prolonged drought, combined with increased evaporation from shrinking reservoirs, has brought the Euphrates Lake down to a dangerous level of 298 meters above sea level—six meters below its optimal elevation of 304 meters.

What Lies Ahead

Without immediate and coordinated intervention, both domestically and internationally, the water crisis in Raqqa will likely escalate into a broader humanitarian emergency. Reduced crop yields could lead to soaring food prices, deepening economic hardship, and even population displacement if farming becomes untenable.

Local officials are calling on the Syrian government to engage directly with Turkish authorities to ensure compliance with previously signed water-sharing protocols. Meanwhile, farmers on the ground are left to contend with vanishing resources, inadequate infrastructure, and the growing risk of agricultural collapse.

Unless urgent steps are taken, Raqqa and its surrounding areas may soon face the grim reality of agricultural famine, underscoring the critical link between water security, food sovereignty, and regional stability.