Abdalaziz Alhamza “RBSS”
During the battles between the terrorist group ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the city’s irrigation systems were targeted and massively destroyed. As such, large parts of the system are now completely out of service, which will lead to a huge problem for the area, as agriculture is the main source of income in the province of Raqqa.
“Beer Al-Hasham” is one of the largest irrigation projects in the province and it provides water for more than a hundred thousand acres of land. The project was implemented in 1985 by the General Establishment for Land Reclamation in Raqqa to raise the level of water delivered to other areas. The three irrigation pumps in Beer Al-Hasham are now completely out of service and massive damage has been wrought upon the city’s irrigation network.
The terrorist group ISIS bombed the irrigation control center before their surrender and withdrawal, which caused major failures in the whole system. If authorities continue to ignore this problem, the overall situation of the system will deteriorate and lead to tragic results.
Civilians from this area have appealed to International organizations, stakeholders, and local authorities to intervene as soon as possible. The issue of irrigation not only affects Raqqa province in particular, but the whole of Syria in general.
