Black oil spills are spotted on the banks of the Euphrates River in Syria, near the oil smuggling points between the areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government-held areas. 

The Euphrates River, the longest in Western Asia and once the main drinking water source in the provinces of the Syrian al-Jazira region, is facing a real catastrophe in light of the soaring rates of pollutants in its water. The river stretches inside the Syrian territories over 610 kilometers (379 miles), flowing inside Syria from Jarablus city near the border with Turkey, passing through Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor and ending in al-Bukamal to pour toward the Iraqi territory.

The river’s pollution in Syria is traced back to several causes. The unstable area in northeastern Syria is controlled by several armed organizations, amid worsening social and service conditions.

Recently, black spills have been spotted on the banks of the Euphrates River, as a result of oil derivatives leakage near the smuggling points in SDF-controlled areas. Through these points, fuel is illegally transported to the areas controlled by the Syrian government on the opposite bank of the river, using very primitive methods. Also, SDF forces repeatedly target oil pipelines extending to the opposite bank.