Admist water cutoff, south Damascus residents look to the ground

The regime’s extended cutoff of clean water to rebel-held areas in southern Damascus has forced residents to turn to makeshift, often unsanitary means to stay alive.

“The water has been cut off from Yarmouk camp, al-Hajr al-Aswad and a-Tadamun for around 280 days, and the cessation happened gradually up until the water stopped coming entirely,” Matar Ismail, member of a pro-opposition media collective in southern Damascus, told Syria Direct Sunday.

“The regime is responsible for severing the water lines that feed these areas,” Ismail added.

Across southern Damascus, affected areas include those that have officially signed truces with the regime, such as Beit Sahm, Yelda and Babila, Mohammed al-Umri, alias of a citizen journalist from neighboring al-Qadm, told Syria Direct Sunday.

People have taken to drinking “unsanitary well water” to meet their needs, added al-Umri.

“For a long time now Babila, Beit Sahm and Yelda have been relying on ground wells. Additional wells were dug in Yarmouk camp and a-Tadamun, and right now old wells are being fixed up to meet people’s needs,” said Ismail.

Above, children fill up water jugs in Yarmouk camp over the weekend.

-Photo courtesy of Rabie Thoura