Turkey is in regular contact with the United Nations (UN) regarding the humanitarian situation in Syria.

However, the joint statement released on 15 July 2021 by the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis and UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa contains factual mistakes as well as incomplete and misleading information.

Allouk Water Station is situated near the town of Ras al-Ain, a part of an area held by the Syrian opposition, and the only source of power for the station as well as the whole region of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain is in the south.

The terrorist organization PKK/PYD and the regime deliberately obstruct the electricity to the Station and the region. These power cuts disable the functions of the Station to provide water and aggravates the humanitarian conditions in the region.

Therefore, there is no electrical power in Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain since 18 April 2021 and at the Allouk Water Station since 26 June 2021. Moreover, the regime continues to arbitrarily prevent potable and irrigation water supply to Al Bab.

The co-signatories of the joint statement have a selective approach to the humanitarian issues inside Syria and ignore the severe consequences that hundreds of thousands of civilians living in the opposition-controlled areas have to face due to the deliberate electric and water shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We remind the UN representatives in the region that the humanitarian problems in Syria must be addressed in an impartial, neutral and independent manner.