Hundreds of thousands of people in northeast Syria are facing mounting risks of the new coronavirus outbreak because of repeated interruptions to their main water supply, UNICEF warned on Monday.
The Allouk water station in Ras Al-Ain, a border town controlled by Turkey and Syrian forces it supports, has not pumped water to the Kurdish-held northeast for days.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Ankara was behind the decision, AFP reported.
The Allouk pumping station supplies water to around 460,000 people, including residents of Hassakeh city and the overcrowded Al-Hol camp, which hosts thousands of ISIS fighters' families.
"The interruption of water supply during the current efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease puts children and families at unacceptable risk," Fran Equiza, the agency's representative in Syria, said in a statement.
“No child should have to live even one day without safe water. Clean water and handwashing save lives. Water and water facilities must not be used for military or political gains – when they do, children are the first and most to suffer,” Equiza stressed.
After the 1st case of coronavirus was announced in Syria, concerns are rising over a possible health crisis in the country that has been under war since 2011.
Kurdish forces warned that areas under its control are not ready to face the pandemic.
