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Kurdish forces blame Turkey for Euphrates River water drop in northeast Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces claim Turkey caused a drop in the Euphrates River water level that will harm residents and their economic activities in the areas they control in northern and eastern Syria.
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ALEPPO — The water level of the Euphrates River in Syria’s northern province of Raqqa has decreased dramatically over the past few weeks. Should the river's water flow continue as it is now, economic activities — and particularly agriculture — in Raqqa and other Syrian areas that the river crosses through will be harmed.

On March 2, the General Administration of Dams in Northeast Syria, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, issued a statement accusing Turkey of cutting water sources that flow into the Euphrates. “Since the end of January the average water flow quantity became less than a quarter of the quantity agreed upon according to the agreement signed between the upstream and the downstream countries that share the riverbed. This is a very low quantity that does not meet the operating and investment requirements for such a period of the year.”

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