The Turkish occupation cutting off drinking water of Hasakah is a war crime, lawyers say

The Turkish occupation forces deliberately commit a “war crime” in accordance with international humanitarian law and a “crime against humanity” according to the International Criminal Court by cutting off drinking water of the people of Hasakah, neglecting all international conventions and treaties and  numerous calls to stop this crime against more than a million civilians from Hasaka.

An expert in international law and a professor of law at the Faculty of Law in Damascus, Dr. Muhammad Khair al-Akam told SANA reporter that preventing Syrian citizens in the city of Hasakah from drinking water, which is the most important means of life, is a “war crime” that aims to kill civilians in accordance with the humanitarian principles stipulated in the international treaties and agreements.

Al-Akam underlined the need for serious and immediate action by the United Nations and humanitarian organizations and agencies, especially those in Syria, to help civilians and save their lives, and unveil the reality of the crimes of the Turkish regime on Syrian territories.

“What the Turkish occupation commits in al-Hasakah is legally classified as a “war crime” according to international humanitarian law, a “crime against humanity” according to the International Criminal Court, and a crime of “genocide” according to the United Nations Convention in 1948,” according to the international law and human rights expert Naim Akbik. The history of the Turkish regime is full of blood shedding, murder  and crimes – and the  Armenian massacres is clear evidence of that.

Akbik stressed that cutting off water of civilians is a war crime and genocide in accordance with Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the 1998 Rome Statute. So, the Attorney General at the General Law Court has the right to file a lawsuit for investigation before the special courts relying on documentation by a neutral commission that proves the guilt through eyewitnesses. He stressed the importance of conveying the truth of what is happening through national media and in appropriate ways and not forgetting the role of social websites in forming public opinion and clarifying facts, especially in light of the Western media blackout and deliberate confusion to obscure the facts.

Akbek also highlighted the role of humanitarian organizations and bodies operating on the Syrian territories in conveying the suffering of civilians, due to the Turkish occupation’s attacks, to the United Nations in order to work to stop these violations and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of the city’s locals.

Dr. Bashir Baddour, a researcher in international relations, noted that cutting off drinking water of the city of Hasaka by the Turkish occupation is a “war crime” and a “crime against humanity” in accordance with the international agreements, especially the genocide convention in 1948.

Badour stressed that the Turkish regime must shoulder responsibility for this crime, calling on it to stop implementing the American agenda. He noted that the enemies of Syria, after failing to achieve their plans through the military methods and terrorist recruitment, resorted to alternative ways, either through the so-called “Caesar’s Act” or by burning agricultural crops and stealing oil wells, and today by cutting off water from the people of Hasaka.

Badour called on the United Nations and the Security Council to move to stop the crimes and deter the arrogance of the Turkish occupier, which if  continues, will lead to a human catastrophe threatening the peace and security of the region. He also called for a legal, political and popular stance to confront the Turkish attacks on the Syrian lands and hold their perpetrators accountable.

It is noteworthy that the Turkish occupation forces and their terrorist mercenaries repeatedly cut off drinking water of more than a million civilians in Hasaka by putting a stop to the work of Alouk plant, which feeds the city of Hasaka and many surrounding areas.

Inas Abdulkareem