ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four civilians have been killed and more were injured in drone strikes on Tishreen Dam in northern Syria on Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stated. This is the third attack on civilians at the site this month amid fears the dam could collapse.
“For the third day in a row, Turkish warplanes and UCAVs [unmanned combat aerial vehicles] have continued to target the civilian demonstrators at the Tishreen Dam, southeast of Manbij. Today, the strikes targeted the dam's structure, resulting in the martyrdom of four civilians and injuries to 15 others,” SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami wrote on X.
An ambulance transporting the wounded was also targeted, killing everyone inside, said Shami.
He shared videos of injured people lying on the ground and receiving first aid.
The conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the strikes also caused material damage.
“A Turkish drone bombed, with two strikes, a gathering of residents present on the Tishreen Dam, east of Aleppo, which resulted in the injury of three people and caused significant material damage to the area, amid calls to stop bombing the dam for fear of its collapse,” it reported.
Tishreen Dam has been the focus of attacks by Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants for the past month.
There are fears the structure could collapse and the administration of north and east Syria last week appealed to the international community to halt the attacks.
The dam on the Euphrates River provides electricity to much of northeast Syria (Rojava). The SDF took control of the facility from the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015 with the help of American troops.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has also expressed concern over the humanitarian implications of attacks on the dam.
Two separate convoys of civilians going to the dam to protest the attacks have come under attack earlier this month, with several people killed and injured.
Turkey claims that there are Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members within the ranks of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF. Ankara has designated both as terrorist groups.
Speaking at a political event in Mersin on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened the YPG.
"We have zero tolerance for the YPG terrorist organization, which occupies one-third of the country (Syria). We will soon take steps to resolve this issue once and for all," he said, according to Anadolu Agency.
Also on Saturday, SOHR said that airstrikes targeted a school and a car repair shop in the countryside surrounding the border town of Kobane.
Turkish forces and their Syrian allies also bombed villages around Hasaka with heavy artillery, according to the war monitor.
Updated at 06:30 pm
