Turkey helps 35 Syrian villages receive water

By Ashraf Mousa

TAL ABYAD, Syria (AA) - With support from Turkey, water supplies have reached 35 villages in northern Syria’s Tal Abyad district after being disrupted for more than a year due to the sabotage of water and electricity networks by the YPG/PKK terror group.

Following Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring launched against the terror group and the liberation of the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, the YPG/PKK regularly destroyed electricity networks, which eventually disrupted the functioning of water networks in the surrounding towns and villages.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Samer Issa, the officer in charge of water resources in the local council of Tal Abyad, said the Turkish Irrigation Directorate in Sanliurfa installed pumps and electric converters to pump water in the region.

Issa added that 3,500 people are benefiting from the water supplies in the villages for consumption and irrigating their farms.

One of the villagers from Tayba village, Abu Mahmoud, told Anadolu Agency that before the water problem was resolved, the villagers used to walk 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) to secure water for their families.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara