Government and rebel-held parts of Syria’s Aleppo have been without safe water for nearly three weeks because the war-torn city’s only pumping station is not functioning, residents said Thursday.
Syria’s Aleppo suffering three-week ‘water crisis’
STEPANAKERT, JULY 17, ARTSAKHPRESS: The cause of the problem is disputed, with some residents saying a lack of fuel was the issue, but a monitor reporting that the opposition group controlling the facility had shut it down, english.alarabiya.net informed.
“There is a water crisis in the whole city,” said Mamun Abu Omar, head of a pro-rebel press agency.
“All our water was from the Euphrates River. The pumps would bring it in, filter it, and it would reach Aleppo’s residents,” Abu Omar told.
But for the past 20 days, residents have been forced to purchase individual cisterns of unfiltered water.
“The water from these cisterns isn’t healthy -- it’s often uncovered and exposed to the air,” Abu Omar said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, people were drawing water from wells.
Many residents have suffered cases of poisoning after drinking this water.
