UN warns Damascus water crisis may be ‘war crime,’ as 5.5 million people affected

The UN has warned that the water crisis afflicting the Syrian capital may constitute a war crime. Millions of people have been deprived of running water after a reserve located in rebel-held Wadi Barada was cut off. “In Damascus itself, 5.5 million people have had their water supplies cut or minimized,” the UN’s humanitarian adviser to Syria, Jan Egeland, told

reporters in Geneva on Thursday. In December, the running water supply for Damascus was shut off, having reportedly been contaminated with diesel fuel. This deprived millions of people of drinking water, and came amid fighting in the rebel-held area where the reservoir is located. FULL REPORT