Millions facing water shortages in Syria's Damascus

Some 4 million people living in Damascus have been deprived of water since Dec. 22 due to ongoing fighting in the Wadi Barada area where much of the city's water supply originates, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Tuesday.

"We are very concerned about this because of the actual lack of water but also the risk of disease and health issues that is associated with such a lack of water," Jens Laerke told press here.

"We have received reports that indicate that the water authorities have activated emergency plans to produce some 30 percent of people's daily needs to deliver water on a rotational basis to meet the minimum demands of Damascus city," he added.

According to OCHA, trucks are also being used to ferry water to schools, hospitals, bakeries and to some neighbourhoods of Syria's capital city.

As part of its water, sanitation and hygiene response in Syria, the UN has rehabilitated and equipped a number of wells in and around Damascus that cover around one third of the city's daily needs.

In parallel, the UN has provided fuel and generators to increase water pumping capacity, funded repair works and carried out water trucking to 50 priority schools and some areas in rural Damascus.

"We continue to call on all the parties to the conflict not to target water infrastructure because of the serious consequences this has," Laerke concluded.

source: Xinhua