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Yezidi Village in Armenia Without Water; Russian Border Guards Deny Residents Access to Broken Pump

The National Coalition of Sinjar Yezidis reports that the Yezidi-populated village of Tlik, located just this side of the barbed wire that stretches along on the banks of the Akhouryan River that separates Armenia from Turkey, has been without non-potable water due to a broken pump and that Russian border guards have prevented residents from replacing it.

Boris Mourazi, who heads the Coalition, says that the soldiers have told residents of the Aragatsotn village of 18 families that they need an entry permit to get to the site of the pump close to the border.

Mourazi says residents requested a permit from the National Security Service (NSS), but have yet to receive an answer.

“Provincial authorities seem to be sitting on their hands,” says Mourazi. “I ask all legal organizations and the media to focus on this problem.”

The village hasn’t had any drinking water since 1993. Residents are forced to buy it. The pump provided water for the animals and for doing laundry.

Update: Alik Mstoyan, who teaches Yezidi language and literature in Tlik, has told Hetq that residents have purchased a new pump for $875 and that the NSS has issued an entry permit for an electrician to install the new pump.

Every year, the NSS issues entry permits to residents to descend to the river. Mstoyan says that when residents went to fix the pump, they realized they needed the professional help of an electrician. Since the electrician did not have a permit, the border guards were legally obliged not to let him into the restricted area where the pump is located.

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