Aleppo, Jan. 13 (SANA) The Ministry of Energy on Tuesday condemned what it called criminal practices by the SDF Organization, citing repeated attacks on infrastructure and public facilities in the eastern Aleppo countryside, Aleppo province, northern Syria, which it said could lead to a humanitarian and agricultural crisis.
In a statement, the ministry said groups affiliated with the SDF organization stormed the al-Babiri pumping station on Tuesday morning and pressured technical staff at gunpoint to forcibly operate an additional pumping unit. The ministry described the move as a sabotage measure intended to flood the main canal and expose it to the risk of collapse and destruction, exploiting current weather conditions and the rainy season.
The statement added that the SDF organization detonated the Abu Tina bridge, located east of Deir Hafir in the eastern Aleppo countryside, causing the shutdown of the Q9 regulatory gates—vital installations that control water flow in the area—and resulting in a complete cutoff of access roads to the site.
The ministry held the SDF organization fully responsible for endangering the main canal and threatening about 8,000 hectares of agricultural land with flooding due to sharply elevated water levels and flow velocity, particularly in Deir Hafir and its surroundings.
The ministry took immediate emergency measures to avert disaster, including opening a drainage channel toward Lake Jabbul and parts of the southern plains to relieve pressure on the main canal and prevent rupture, in order to safeguard the facility and adjacent farmland.
The ministry also noted that the SDF organization has intensified attacks for more than a week against the city of Aleppo, including strikes targeting the municipal palace building, several government facilities, and civilians.
