Syria: Turkey repairs electricity, water infrastructure

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's efforts to supply electricity and water to people in northern Syria continue, according to the country's National Defense Ministry.

"Electricity is now being provided to 51% of the Tal Abyad region, and efforts are ongoing to provide electricity to Ras al-Ayn's central area along with its surrounding countryside. In this light, efforts to repair and restore Ras al-Ayn's electricity transformer stations and power lines are ongoing without pause," the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Stressing that joint efforts continue towards resolving problems faced by "Syrian brothers" living in the Operation Peace Spring area, the statement added that water had been successfully extracted from 26 wells in the region:

"In Ras al-Ayn in particular, 10 out of the 15 water wells are now functional with the provision of electricity, satisfying the water demands of a large portion of Ras al-Ayn."

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9 to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

Since then, Turkey reached agreements with both the U.S. and Russia to force the terrorist YPG/PKK to withdraw from the planned terror-free zone.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot.