Continued power outage in Kobane exacerbates service, humanitarian crisis

The Energy Authority explained that the power outage in Kobane has caused significant damage to various aspects of life, particularly the shutdown of water pumping stations and its direct impact on hospitals and bakeries.

This came in a statement issued by the Authority on Thursday, which was read in both Kurdish and Arabic. The Kurdish version was read by Aygol Muslim; the member of the Kobane Energy Authority, while the Arabic version was read by the member Delkhaz Sheikh Nabi.

The statement explained that since January 18th, the power has been cut off to Kobane due to a fault at the Tishrin Dam. After the fault was repaired, electricity was restored to the city's distribution station for no more than 30 minutes before being cut off again until the date of issuing this statement.

The statement indicated that the 66 kV transmission line is shared between the Kobane and Sarin stations. Electricity is currently reaching the Sarin and Ain Issa stations, while the Kobane station is not receiving power due to the fault in the transmission line.

The statement added that despite coordination with the International Red Cross to bring the repair workshops of the electricity directorate in Kobane to the site of the fault, the necessary approval was not obtained, which led to the continuation of the power outage in the city of Kobane and its countryside, despite repeated promises of assistance, which raises suspicions about the real motives for the continuation of this outage.

The Energy Authority confirmed that the power outage has severely impacted numerous service sectors, as water pumps, hospitals, mills, and bakeries rely on electricity to operate. This exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in the city already suffering under the suffocating siege imposed by factions affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government in Damascus.

The Energy Authority called on international organizations to fulfill their responsibilities without delay and to pressure the Syrian Interim Government to allow maintenance crews access to the site of the outage to repair it and restore electricity to Kobane.

In closing, the Authority urged the Ministry of Energy in the Syrian Interim Government to act in accordance with its responsibilities to assist in repairing the damage, while simultaneously affirming that its own crews are ready to mobilize at any moment to address the existing problems.

For its part, the Kobane Water Authority announced in a statement on Wednesday that 14 water stations are out of service due to the power outage, and that Kobane and its surrounding villages have been without water for nearly 20 days, threatening the lives of more than 500,000 people.

ANHA