Turkish attacks have left 1 million Kurds without water

Massive bombings perpetrated by Turkey against the Kurds in northeastern Syria left 1 million people residing in the region without water supply, a BBC investigation indicated Tuesday.

According to experts, these attacks could constitute a violation of international law.

It should be noted that, for several years now, Turkey presided over by Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been bombing and carrying out cross-border ground incursions against Kurdish forces, which autonomously administer a region known unofficially as "Syrian Kurdistan" after they collaborated in the victory against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group over the past decade as part of a U.S.-led coalition.

Erdogan says his attacks target the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control the region.

According to the Turkish president, the YPG respond to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an organization that last October perpetrated an attack on a defense facility in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, that left five dead.

Following the attack perpetrated by the PKK, considered an act of terrorism by Turkey, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, the Turks launched a series of heavy bombings against the Kurds in Syria, despite the SDF denying any involvement in the attack.

The BBC added in its investigation that the humanitarian situation of the inhabitants of Syrian Kurdistan has been deteriorating due to drought, years of civil war and more than 100 attacks carried out by Turkey from late 2019 to early 2024, which have severely damaged oil, gas and electricity facilities, significantly harming civilians.

According to the BBC, the humanitarian crisis was further exacerbated in October 2023, when Turkish attacks damaged the main water supply station in the area, which is why 1 million inhabitants in the Al-Hasaka province have been forced to rely on water tankers carrying water from 12 miles away, which is insufficient.

A war crime?

The United Nations indicated earlier this year that these attacks could constitute a war crime, a view also expressed by legal experts consulted by the BBC.

The Kurdish autonomous government has repeatedly accused Turkey of wanting to carry out ethnic cleansing in the region.

In response to the report, Ankara blamed the authorities in Syrian Kurdistan and climate change for the humanitarian crisis. And it added that it only targets what it considers legitimate targets, related to sources of income and military capabilities of the Kurds.

Erdogan's hypocrisy

The Turkish strikes are being carried out despite the fact that Erdogan has repeatedly harshly criticized Israel for its anti-terror counter-offensive in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 massacre, going so far as to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal" and threatening to invade the Jewish state.