BY DANIEL PIPES
From National Review Online
Two reports from Beirut’s Al-Akhbar point to potentially catastrophic water problems about to affect Syria.
The lesser concerns Aleppo, where mortar shells and barrel bombs have slackened off but Islamist rebels have shut down the city’s potable water supply, forcing Aleppan residents in government-controlled areas to depend on wells and trucks for limited, contaminated, and expensive water. Lines of women and children “have become ubiquitous in front of mosque fountains and government wells in order to fill small containers such as cooking pots, teapots and plastic bottles as well as small barrels,” the paper reports. According to an official at the Syrian Red Crescent, “The situation signals a humanitarian and health disaster.”
The greater problem concerns the Euphrates River, the second longest waterway of the Middle East. Nearly all its volume originates in the Republic of Turkey, from which it flows into Syria and Iraq, ending in the Persian Gulf. It provides about one-third of Syria’s water supply. In the last few weeks, according to Al-Akhbar, the Turkish government completely stopped Euphrates waters from leaving Turkey and flowing into Syria, something made possible by the enormous reservoir behind its Atatürk Dam.
This action threatens water crises in Syria and Iraq . As one indication, the water level in Lake Assad, Syria’s largest body of water, has gone down by about 20 feet, according to the paper. Within days, some 7 million Syrians could be left without water as well as electricity. Al-Akhbar says that “a halt to the water supply is now inevitable and can’t be resolved unless the Turkish government takes the decision to resume pumping Euphrates water.” To make matters yet more worrisome, the fanatic Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group controls the Tishrin Dam, one of Syria’s three dams on the Euphrates.
The Syrian civil war keeps getting more ferocious, vicious, and barbaric — not a surprise given that Islamists, both domestic and foreign, dominate the fighting on both sides.
Meanwhile, the Euphrates River contains some of the world’s most volatile and fearsome waterworks; the Mosul Dam in Iraq, for example, could collapse, killing millions. Again, given the three states involved (Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), this also ranks as less than a surprise.
Should terminal dehydration kill massive numbers of Syrians, this will likely prompt Western opinion to call for intervention.
Turkey’s AKP government has already shown itself callous about loss of life (recall the Soma coal-mine disaster). But is Prime Minister Erdogan really about to commit what appears to be genocide?
Thanks to Mr Obama and his US administration and allies these flesh-eating animals are armed with deadly missiles and weapons. Turkey is only following suit otherwise they would not dare.
All the atrocities committed by these terrorists are ignored and overlooked by these so called Democratic leaders of US and their allies who now are in cahoots with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations hurting innocent people.
These acts of crime against humanity committed in Syria are not going to benefit US/Allies. It is going to backfire in their face one day. Turkey has been encouraged by US to steer things up from the beginning. They only follow orders. Turkey is a place where most terrorist go to gain entry to Syria.
Obama administration that hated terrorists only few years ago is now SILENT. These big heroes who would look for any excuse (Even if they had to invent one) to “punish” terrorists have changed their spots.
Mr Putin is happy to see this setting. It only proves (Right) what he had said at the beginning – Trying to discourage US to arm the terrorists. Mr Putin has made a lot of dollars from Turkey and the rest out of this muddy situation. The only winner! Turkey has paid its SAFETY money to Putin!
There are many Armenians live in US (America). May be they know what does all this mean? Why did these Wolves in Sheepskin turn from “world police” into a bunch of “criminal tugs”?
Blow the turkish dam ! voilà !
Turkey is miscalculating it’s moves, Shutting Off Water Supply to Syria = declaring war on Syria,
Saddam Hussein did the same thing in Iraq. He cut off water flow to the south that affected the Shi’ites. These things are not exclusive to any one country. As General William Tecumseh Sherman once said “War is hell”
In 1915 Armenians in Syria murdered by denying water, in 2014, the genocidal turks are at it again this time the desire is to kill not just Christians but Moslems as well, with the turks it has always been the end justifies the means. if one person dies from lack of water because of a Turkish shutoff, Erdogan should be in a glass booth on trial at the The Hague for crimes against humanity. Apparently there is coordination between the Jihadists and Erdogan on the cutting off of water. We need to be in full force in New York when Erdogan comes to UN in September in protest for the women and children he murdered over the summer. If Armenian organizations don’t run with this issue and run Erdogan down with it they should just close shop now and admit ineptitude.
what a backwards, gruesome and inhumane country.
Typical NATO puppet state behavior. EU/US can’t afford the human rights fiasco becoming blood on its hands like much of the 18th, 19th, and 20th century in so many parts of the world. Instead it us using Turkey as a proxy war mule to complete its agenda in Syria.
SARF go build another school in Aleppo, this one is in ruins and apparently the whole of Arstakh is not up to snuff yet for the Syrian Armenians to wise up and settle onto.