Turkish aggression results in power crisis in Syria's Al-Hasakah

By Al Mayadeen English
20 Feb 2024 11:59
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The Turkish airstrikes have resulted in a complete power outage in cities and towns in the Syrian province of Al-Hasakah.

Syrian boys sit on empty gallons as they wait in a long queue to fill gasoline near a gas station in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. (AP)

Due to the repeated Turkish airstrikes targeting the essential infrastructure in the areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), particularly in the province of al-Hasakah, there is a crisis in the supply of petroleum products. This has resulted in a reduction in the hours of electricity supply and a shortage of domestic gas.

This situation follows a month-long wave of Turkish aerial bombardment, leading to the disruption of more than half of the converter stations in al-Hasakah province. The affected stations include al-Darbasiyah, Amuda, al-Qahtaniyah, Northern al-Qamishli, and Tal Tamr, in addition to the Swedish power generation station, which used to provide around 100 megawatt-hours of electricity per day.

It is also important to note that the al-Awda production station also went out of service, along with a significant number of wells ceasing production. Furthermore, other wells in al-Qahtaniyah and Rmeilan in northern al-Hasakah were affected, and the "Al-Suwaydiyyah" gas production plant faced damage, leading to a decrease in in its production, noting that its produced from 12,000 to 16,000 cylinders daily.

These targeted attacks have resulted in a complete blackout in cities and towns in the province of al-Hasakah. In other areas, electricity supply is now down to only two hours per day. Additionally, there is a shortage of fuel for vehicles and generators, causing prices in the local market to double.

Ankara deliberately targets infrastructure, oil and gas wells, power stations, and water facilities to undermine the economy in areas controlled by the SDF, accusing the SDF of stealing and selling oil and transferring substantial amounts to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Official sources consider the Turkish aggression as part of Turkey's plan to target infrastructure belonging to the Syrian state, increasing the cost of reconstruction in the region.

Turkey wants direct talks with Syria, FM says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed, on February 4, Turkey's desire to engage in direct discussions with Syria to address the issue of the repatriation of refugees. However, Fidan revealed that Syria was reluctant to engage in talks without any strings attached.

In an interview with A Haber news channel, Fidan lamented Syria's unwillingness to hold a one-on-one meeting with Turkey.

He emphasized Turkey's objectives in seeking talks, stating, "What do we want? To fight against terrorism and to get assistance in refugee repatriations. Unfortunately, they have been setting conditions, which is the wrong approach."

Russia, Syria, and Turkey's defense ministers held talks in the Russian capital, Moscow, in December 2022 where they discussed means of resolving the Syrian crisis.