Turkish attacks cause widespread blackout in Rojava: Official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey has targeted several power stations in northeast Syria (Rojava) in recent days, causing a widespread blackout in many towns and villages, according to a Kurdish official.

In the last few days, Turkish drones have hit several power stations and oil fields as well as other basic service facilities in Rojava. This follows a suicide attack against Turkey’s interior ministry in Ankara on Sunday - which the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) later claimed responsibility for.

Salah Khalaf, co-chair of the Hasaka electricity directorate, told Rudaw on Friday that numerous areas across Rojava experienced blackouts due to the Turkish drone attacks. 

“Yesterday, the power station of Rojava (Western) Dam, which is located around 12 kilometers east of Hasaka city, was targeted and damaged. It has caused blackouts in two Hasaka neighborhoods,” he said, adding that the electricity of villages near the station was cut as well.

He noted that power stations in Amuda and Qamishli bore the lion’s share of Friday's strikes. 

The official also said that the electricity of Hasaka is better than other parts of Rojava where power stations have been severely hit by the Turkish drones. 
 
On Friday, two key power stations in Qamishli and Tirbespi (al-Qahtaniyah) were severely hit by Turkish drones, and a natural gas production station in Siwediye was struck four times, according to pro-SDF Ronahi TV.  

Hawar News Agency (ANHA), another pro-SDF media outlet, reported that the key power station of Amuda in Hasaka province was bombed by Turkey, causing a blackout that affected nearby Tirbespi as well. Alouk water station, which relies on the targeted power station, also stopped operating. As a result, many areas were left without running water. 

Turkey has recently targeted several power stations in northeast Syria (Rojava), causing a widespread blackout in many towns and villages.

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— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) October 7, 2023

Fifteen people, including eight civilians, have been killed during airstrikes in the last two days, according to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).  

The SDF said Turkey has “targeted civic services, economic hubs, energy facilities (oil and electricity), water resources, military installations, civilian structures, and inhabited villages.”

Riyadh Dirar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the SDF, told Rudaw on Friday that Ankara could launch a ground operation against them.

He added that there are efforts to prevent such an offensive.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that any facility linked to the PKK in Iraq and Syria would constitute “legitimate targets,” for his country. He claimed that the two perpetrators of the Ankara attack had entered Turkey from Syria. The SDF has rejected the claim.  

“Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimize its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression that is of our deep concern. Threat to target the region's infrastructure, economic resources, and populated cities is a war crime, the thing we have witnessed before,” said Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the SDF, on Wednesday. 

PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey also considers the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.

Thousands of people across Rojava held protests against the Turkish attacks, calling on the international community to impose a no-fly zone over the Kurdish enclave. 

 

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