Like many farmers in northeastern Syria, Nizar al-Awwad can no longer irrigate his land via a nearby river that is blackened by oil that local officials say flows from facilities that have been targeted by Turkish attacks.
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“All farmers in the region have stopped irrigating their fields with water from the river,” says this 30-year-old man from a village in Hassaké province.
“Using polluted water would mean destroying our land,” adds the farmer with a carefully trimmed beard.
“Farmers are already suffering from fuel shortages and drought. “The pollution in the river has only made the situation worse,” complains Mr. Awwad in front of his wheat fields.
AFP
In Syria, which has been at war since 2011, fighting has sometimes destroyed oil infrastructure that was the target of the desires of the various warring parties.
The region where Nizar al-Awwad lives and is under the control of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration was attacked by Turkish airstrikes in January, particularly targeting refineries and other oil facilities.
Turkey carried out attacks against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq and Syria in mid-January after an attack on a Turkish military base in northern Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers.
AFP
Oil slicks
Since then, residents of Hassaké province have told AFP that they noticed black oil stains on the al-Radd river, a tributary of the Khabour that runs through much of northeastern Syria.
AFP correspondents also saw oil slicks in the Hassaké region, polluting the water and banks of the river over a stretch of 55 kilometers.
AFP
Mohammed al-Aswad, co-chair of the Kurdistan Autonomous Administration's water office, told AFP that “Turkish bombings have damaged oil facilities and pipelines.”
According to him, the damage particularly affects the Rmeilane region with its huge oil fields.
AFP
Oil leaks could “threaten river biodiversity” if they reach a dam along the Chabour River, fears Mr al-Aswad.
The rudimentary reed nets installed by the Kurdish autonomous administration have so far failed to contain oil leaks and protect farmers' land.
Supported by American troops on the ground, the Kurds control Syria's most important oil fields, which represent the main source of income for their autonomous administration.
AFP
Until the oil infrastructure is repaired, authorities are advising farmers not to let their livestock drink contaminated water.
Ibrahim al-Moufdi, a 50-year-old farmer, stopped irrigating his fields with this polluted water two weeks ago. “The sheep can't drink from the river,” said the man in the red keffiyeh, stick in hand, expressing concern about possible contamination of the fish.
These oil leaks are the latest blow to farmers already suffering from the nearly 13-year war that plunged the country into a crushing economic crisis and the consequences of global warming.
“I just hope that it continues to rain so that we are not forced to irrigate our land with water from the river,” sighs Mr. al-Moufdi.