Five and a half million people in Damascus have little to no access to water from rebel-held Wadi Barada after the springs have been disrupted due to the ongoing fighting between Syrian regime troops and rebel groups.

The springs of Wadi Barada are located just outside of Damascus and account for 70 percent of the water supplies in the Syrian capital, United Nations' humanitarian coordinator Jan Egeland said. Over 5 million people in the City of Jasmine and its vicinity have been afflicted by a water crisis since Dec. 22, having purportedly been contaminated with diesel fuel.

Like Us on Facebook

The regime and rebels have traded accusations over responsibility. Rebels blamed government forces for allegedly shelling the reservoir, while Syrian officials said the rebels intentionally infected the water and damaged the infrastructure.

The United Nations has already warned that targeting water sources constitutes "war crime."

Residents have been able to access water through rationing, which is up to two hours every three or four days. Many have turned to private distributors, which have questionable prices and qualities, prompting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to raise the alarm over a potential increase in epidemic of water-borne diseases due to lack of clean water.

"While private distributors are providing water, we are worried about quality and price of those supplies," Christophe Boulierac, a UNICEF spokesperson, said at the regular bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.

The Syrian government has sought to alleviate the predicament by transporting water from wells around the city, while UNICEF and its partners have rehabilitated 120 wells in and around Damascus to support a part of the residents' daily water necessities.  

"As of December 22, those wells were the only source of water for the entire city," the organization said. "This past week, daily water trucking resumed to 50 schools in Damascus to reach 30,000 children."

All throughout Syria, about 15 million people are in dire need of water aid.

TagsSyria, Damascus, water shortage, United Nations, UNICEF