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1,200 People Poisoned from Drinking Polluted Water in Damascus Countryside

Damascus residents fill up plastic cans on Jan. 10, 2017 as a severe water shortage grips the Syrian capital. (AFP)
Damascus residents fill up plastic cans on Jan. 10, 2017 as a severe water shortage grips the Syrian capital. (AFP)
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1,200 People Poisoned from Drinking Polluted Water in Damascus Countryside

Damascus residents fill up plastic cans on Jan. 10, 2017 as a severe water shortage grips the Syrian capital. (AFP)
Damascus residents fill up plastic cans on Jan. 10, 2017 as a severe water shortage grips the Syrian capital. (AFP)

The General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation in Damascus revealed on Sunday that water pollution has led to the poisoning of more than 1,200 residents in the Najha, Khirbet al-Ward and the police housing complex in the capital’s countryside.

In a statement on Sunday, it said private cars were filling water containers from a polluted private wellspring that is not licensed by the establishment. The polluted water was then sold to residents in those areas, causing the poisoning.

The Establishment said it took sample of water from the wellspring and analyzed it, and later found it was polluted.

“The wellspring was permanently closed. Samples were also taken from the water reaching the water networks in Najha, to ensure its safety,” it added.

The Establishment had previously announced that maintenance work was being carried out on the main water lines feeding the city of Damascus, which necessitated cutting off water to the capital on Sunday and Monday.

Syria has been suffering from major water crises for years.

In the Damascus countryside, the majority of cities and towns have suffered from water cuts for several days and even weeks, forcing the residents to rely on water tankers, which are filled from unknown sources, and sold at high prices.

The price of a barrel of water ranges between 2,000 and 4,000 Syrian pounds, and may reach 8,000 in days of severe heat and high demand.

A Syrian family needs at least 40,000 liters of drinking water per week.

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UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's conflict "has not ended" even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN's envoy to the country warned Tuesday, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north.

Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to "cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan" and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria.

"There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered... A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation," he said.

"Such an escalation could be catastrophic."

Pedersen also said he had met with Syria's new de facto leadership following the opposition’s lightning takeover, and toured Sednaya prison's "dungeons" and "torture and execution chambers," operated under Assad's government.

He called for "broad support" for Syria and an end to sanctions to allow for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

"Concrete movement on an inclusive political transition will be key in ensuring Syria receives the economic support it needs," Pedersen said.

- 'Attacks on Syria's sovereignty' -

"There is a clear international willingness to engage. The needs are immense and could only be addressed with broad support, including a smooth end to sanctions, appropriate action on designations, too, and full reconstruction."

Western countries are wrestling with their approach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the takeover of Damascus, and has roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

It has largely been designated in the West as a "terrorist" group, despite moderating its rhetoric.

Pedersen noted Israel had conducted more than 350 strikes on Syria following the departure of the former regime, including a major strike on Tartous.

"Such attacks place a battered civilian population at further risk and undermine the prospects of an orderly political transition," he said.

The envoy warned against plans announced by Israel's cabinet to expand settlements inside the Golan, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security briefing atop a strategic Syrian peak inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights that Israel seized this month.

"Israel must cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan, which are illegal. Attacks on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop," said Pedersen.