Electricity supplied from Turkey illuminates Idlib in Syria

By Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu and Ahmet Karaahmet

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - After seven months of work, Turkish and Syrian firms provided the war-hit northern Syrian city of Idlib with 24-hour uninterrupted electricity on Tuesday for the first time in six years.

Power lines destroyed in attacks by forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime and supporting terror groups backed by Russia and Iran have been repaired and the area now has round-the-clock electricity.

In the current phase of the efforts, power has been supplied to some neighborhoods in Idlib's city center. This will later be extended to the entire province once the necessary infrastructure is complete.

Usame Abu Zayed, the director of the Syrian Green Energy company, said they started work in coordination with a private Turkish company to provide electricity to the people of Idlib from Turkey.

"We started electricity distribution in Idlib," Abu Zayed said. "We carry out our project step by step, including preparation, completion, and installation of electricity grids and stations."

Ahmed Abu Omar, a local businessman, praised those who worked in the electricity distribution scheme. "Today, we can say electricity has brought life back to Idlib."

Noting that the city will be supplied with electricity for 24 hours per day, he said, "Without electricity coming from Turkey, we had electricity for two hours a day. Today, we have electricity for 24 hours."

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.