DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Syrian Deputy Minister of Energy for Water Resources Affairs, Osama Abu Zeid, met on Tuesday with delegations from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UNICEF to discuss strengthening cooperation in the water sector in Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, with a focus on rehabilitating the vital Alouk water station.
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.
