ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) warned on Monday of the growing possibility of the crucial Tishreen Dam collapsing, bringing about an “environmental disaster” that would affect hundreds of thousands and cut electricity access amid militant attacks.
“Our appeal is directed to environmental movements, organizations, and human rights institutions. The danger threatening the dam is increasing day by day, and this danger could lead to various disasters. These attacks not only harm the nature of the region, but also expose its inhabitants to the risk of genocide,” the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) said in a statement.
Turkey and the Syrian militia groups it supports, who call themselves the Syrian National Army (SNA), have recently intensified their attacks on SDF-held areas near Manbij, including Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge.
“We, as the Environment Authority in North and East Syria, condemn the attacks of the occupying Turkish state, which is attacking Tishreen Dam with drones and warplanes,” the DAANES statement added.
It said that they have sent convoys of civilians to the dam to protest Turkish and Turkish-backed militia attacks in an effort to protect the dam as a “human shield,” but their attempts have been futile.
“The Turkish occupation has not stopped, and has attacked civilians and led to the martyrdom of dozens of them,” the statement lamented.
“Hundreds of villages and hundreds of thousands of people live around the dam, and the collapse of the dam will lead to the drowning of large numbers of people and the destruction of many villages,” it warned.
The Rojava administration also stressed that attacks against the dam are causing an ecological disaster, with various species of animals, including birds and squirrels, leaving their nests in the area.
It appealed to the international community to deploy an international force to the dam and stop Turkish attacks.
On Thursday, an airstrike targeted a convoy at the Tishreen Dam protesting in support of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against attacks in the area and caused many injuries.
It was the second strike on civilian convoys near the Tishreen Dam in two days.
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.
Last week Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the YPG would experience a “bitter fate” if they choose to remain operational and not disband.
