ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syrian opposition militants have launched attacks on a major dam under Kurdish control in the northern city of Manbij. The head of the dam on Tuesday warned of a looming “disaster” after it was rendered out of service.
“Turkey-affiliated mercenaries have been attacking the dam in the last two days, using reconnaissance drones and mortars. This has caused a blackout at the dam,” Ali Demir, head of Tishreen Dam, told Rudaw English late Tuesday, adding that the stoppage of services could cause over-pouring.
He warned that if additional water flows into the dam, all outcomes remain possible
Turkey-backed opposition militia groups launched an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northwestern region of Shahba late last month, controlling it days later. They also took over the Manbij city earlier this week which Kurdish fighters had liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2016.
SDF-affiliated media reported the shelling on Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates River, with Hawar News Agency saying the dam went out of service due to attacks by Turkey and the Syrian National Army (SNA) militants.
“Normally, the dam should not go without electricity for even ten seconds. The public electricity has been cut, and we are now using generators [to keep the water pumps running],” Demir noted.
“A disaster could happen,” he warned.
The SDF said in a statement that they “successfully thwarted” attacks by Ankara-backed SNA militants on Qere Qozaq bridge, located on the strategic M4 highway, south of Kobane city in Aleppo province.
SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi said in a post on X that their forces "demonstrated valiant resistance in thwarting the attempted advancement of Turkish-backed factions towards Kobani city," adding that "Simultaneously, our fighters continue to defend the Tishreen Dam and maintain the region's security."
Updated at 12:26 am on December 11, 2024.