Syria’s Afrin cut off from water, thousands displaced

BEIRUT: Water to Syria’s Afrin town has been cut for a week, the United Nations said on Wednesday, after Turkish troops seized the main dam and water plant in the region. Ankara launched an offensive nearly two months ago against the town, to drive out Syrian Kurdish forces that control the northern region near Turkey’s border.

The UN office for humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said the fighting has forced thousands of people to flee their homes within the Afrin region. After the dam northeast of Afrin town changed hands, “local workers were unable to access the dam controls to pump water. The water supply has been cut off,” OCHA said.