Turkish airstrikes in north-east Syria, a region severely affected by drought, have disrupted access to electricity and water for over a million people, raising concerns about potential violations of international law.
Between October 2019 and January 2024, Turkey conducted more than 100 strikes on oil fields, gas facilities, and power stations in the Kurdish-administered Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), according to data compiled by the BBC World Service.
These attacks have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in a region already devastated by years of civil war and a four-year drought intensified by climate change.
Water was already scarce, but strikes on power infrastructure in October last year disabled the Alouk water station, the primary source for the region, which remains non-functional. During two visits, the BBC observed residents struggling to access water.
Turkey defended its actions, stating that it targeted the “sources of income and capabilities” of Kurdish separatist groups it considers terrorists.
It also acknowledged the drought in the region, attributing the worsening water crisis to poor resource management and neglected infrastructure.
The AANES has previously accused Turkey of seeking to “destroy our people’s existence”.
More than a million people in the Hassakeh province who once got their water from Alouk now rely on deliveries of water pumped from around 12 miles (20km) away.
Hundreds of deliveries are made by tanker each day, with the water board prioritising schools, orphanages, hospitals, and those most in need.
But the deliveries are not enough for everyone.
In Hassakeh city, the BBC saw people waiting for the tankers, pleading for the drivers to give them water. “Water is more precious than gold here,” said Ahmad al-Ahmed, a tanker driver. “People need more water. All they want is for you to give them water.”
Some people admitted they fought over it and one woman threatened: “If he [the tanker driver] doesn’t give me water, I’ll puncture his tyres.”
“Let me tell you frankly, north-east Syria is facing a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Yayha Ahmed, co-director of the city water board.
Residents of north-east Syria face a dual conflict: the ongoing Syrian civil war and Turkey’s clashes with Kurdish-led forces. These forces established the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in 2018, following their successful campaign—backed by the U.S.-led coalition—to drive out the Islamic State (IS) group. Coalition troops remain stationed in the region to prevent an IS resurgence.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has labeled the AANES, which lacks international recognition, as a “terror state” bordering Turkey.
The Turkish government views the Kurdish militia leading the region’s main military force as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that has waged a decades-long insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, the UK, and the US.
Between October 2023 and January 2024, Turkish airstrikes targeted electricity transfer stations in Amouda, Qamishli, and Darbasiyah, as well as the Swadiyah power plant, the region’s main electricity hub. The BBC verified the destruction through satellite imagery, eyewitness videos, news reports, and on-site visits.
Satellite imagery of night-time lights from before and after the January 2024 attacks indicated a widespread power outage. “On January 18th…. a significant power outage is evident in the region,” said Ranjay Shrestha, a scientist at Nasa who reviewed the imagery.
The UN says Turkish forces carried out the strikes in Swadiyah, Amuda and Qamishli, while humanitarian groups say Turkey was behind the attack in Darbasiyah.
Turkey said it had been targeting the PKK, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).
The YPG is the biggest militia in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and is the military wing of the PYD, the main political party in the AANES.
“Civilians or civilian infrastructure were not among our targets and have never been,” Turkey said in a statement to the BBC.
But in October last year, the country’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said all “infrastructure, superstructure and energy facilities” that belong to the PKK and the YPG – especially in Iraq and Syria – were “legitimate targets” for its military, security forces and intelligence units.
The consequences of the conflict have been compounded by climate change.
Since 2020, an extreme and exceptional agricultural drought has gripped north-east Syria and parts of Iraq.
Over the past 70 years the average temperature in the Tigris-Euphrates basin has risen by 2C (36F), according to European climate data.
The Khabour river once supplied Hassakeh with water, but levels became too low and people were forced to turn to the Alouk water station.
But in 2019, Turkey took control of the Ras Al-Ain area, where Alouk is situated, saying it needed to establish a “safe zone” to protect the country from what it described as terrorist attacks.
Two years after this, the UN raised concerns about repeated disruption of the water supply from Alouk to north-east Syria, saying the water supply had been interrupted at least 19 times.
And in February 2024 a report published by an independent UN commission said the October 2023 attacks on electricity infrastructure could amount to war crimes because they deprived civilians of access to water.
The BBC shared its findings with international lawyers.
“Turkey’s attacks on energy infrastructure have had a devastating impact on civilians,” said Aarif Abraham, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, adding: “This could constitute a severe violation of international law.”
Patrick Kroker, an international criminal lawyer at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, said that “the indications that international law was violated here are so strong that they should be investigated by a prosecutorial authority”.
The Turkish government said it “fully respects international law”, adding that the UN’s February 2024 report provided “no substantiating evidence” for its “unfounded allegations”.
It blamed water shortages in the region on climate change and “long-neglected water infrastructure” maintenance there.
Hassakeh residents told the BBC they feel abandoned.
Osman Gaddo, head of water testing at the water board, said: “We have made so many sacrifices – so many of us died in battle. But nobody comes to rescue us. We are just asking for drinking water.”