Erdogan continues to deny water access for Al-Hasakah to bring Kurds to their knees

Ahmed Sami Abdel-Fattah

Despite the world’s preoccupation with confronting the coronavirus and working to stop its spread, as well as the global scientific race; to save humanity from annihilation at the hands of this deadly epidemic, the aspirations of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not stop.

The Turkish forces stationed in Alouk water station, located in the countryside of Ras al-Ain, have stopped the flow of water to the city of Hasaka, which is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had published a report on March 6, documenting the return of water to the city of Hasaka, after a 12-day interruption.

The same report also confirmed that the return of the water came after the Kurdish People’s Protection Units accepted the supply of al-Mabrouka station with a greater amount of electricity knowing that this station is feeding the areas of “Tal Abyad and Ras Al-Ain”, north of Hasaka.

An old policy

Turkey is well aware of the role of water in creating internal conflicts anywhere, and Turkey has already fought a political conflict with Iraq because of Turkey’s insistence not to recognize the right of Iraq to cross-border waters in Turkey.

In other words, Turkey deals with the issue of water, as it is a complete right to it on the basis that it is a downstream country, and it deals with water crossing its borders into Iraq, as it is transboundary water, and Turkey uses this justification as a way to cut off water from Iraq whenever it wants.

In June 2018, a report published by Sky News indicated that the water level in the Tigris River in Iraq has decreased by 50% due to the Turkish government starting to fill a number of local dams, the most important of which is the Elisu Dam, without the Turkish government coordinating the matter with the Iraqi government or taking into account their necessary water needs

Igniting the rebellion

Turkey is trying to reuse the same method again, in order to create a kind of popular rebellion within the Kurdish areas over the YPG.

The  city of Hasaka, which is located south of the M4 road that Turkey is trying to control, with the aim of establishing a safe area, according to official data.

The agricultural sector itself will be severely affected by this interruption, and its seasonal productivity will decrease; which will negatively affect the lives of citizens; what may push the local citizens of the city to rebel against the YPG, due to the latter’s inability to provide for their water needs.

Finding an excuse for military escalation

On the other hand, Erdogan’s military forces provoked the Kurdish People’s Protection Units and pushed them to attack the Turkish forces in northern Syria, in response to the water shortage, and as a way to force the Turkish forces to return the water again.

Russia had reached an agreement with Turkey in October 2019, that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units withdraw 30 kilometers from the Turkish border, weeks before Turkey would return, to accuse the People’s Protection Units of not withdrawing its heavy weapon from all regions.