SDF cuts water supply to Syria’s Aleppo

ISTANBUL

The terrorist organization YPG/SDF cut water supplies Saturday to the northern city of Aleppo after an order issued by armed members affiliated with the group.

Water pumping from the Babiri water station in the eastern Aleppo countryside stopped at 5.30 pm local time following a direct directive from SDF-affiliated military elements, the Syrian Energy Ministry said in a statement.

The station is under SDF control and serves as the primary water source for Aleppo city and its surrounding countryside, the ministry added, warning that the halt caused direct damage across the entire province and negatively affected residents’ daily lives and basic services.

The statement said it holds the SDF fully responsible for “a deliberate interruption of water,” adding that targeting vital infrastructure and depriving civilians of basic rights constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and norms.

The ministry said it is working to make every possible effort to resume water pumping and restore services, and called on relevant parties and international organizations to assume their responsibilities toward SDF practices that threaten the humanitarian and service security of millions of civilians.

Syrian authorities began to transfer surrounded members of the SDF in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to the northern city of Tabqah in Raqqa province on Saturday, following a suspension of military operations in the area.

Since Tuesday, the SDF has shelled residential neighborhoods, civilian facilities, and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo. The attacks have killed 23 people and wounded over 100 others and triggered the displacement of about 165,000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud districts.

In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF’s integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.

In April 2025, Syrian authorities signed an agreement with the SDF concerning the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating that both districts would be considered administrative parts of the city of Aleppo while respecting their local particularities.

The agreement also included provisions to ban armed manifestations, restrict weapons to internal security forces, and require the withdrawal of SDF military forces to areas east of the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria.

But authorities said that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreements.

The Syrian government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.