Turkish strikes kill civilians in Syria, as thousands join peace demos at Tishreen Dam
🔴Civilians were targeted and killed in Turkish drone strikes as they were on their way to a demonstration at the Tishreen Dam in NE Syria on Wednesday. The dam has been in danger of collapse… pic.twitter.com/qI2DVVBxWL
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) January 8, 2025
Civilians have been killed by Turkish drone strikes while they were travelling to a demonstration at the Tishreen Dam in northeast Syria on 8 January. The exact number of casualties has yet to be confirmed. The dam, which has been at risk of collapse for over a month due to continuous Turkish bombardment, became the site of a large protest on Wednesday, organised by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to condemn the ongoing military attacks.
Despite the attacks, thousands of people from Hasakah (Hesekê), Raqqa (Reqa), Jazira (Cizîrê) and Tabqa gathered on top of the Tishreen Dam to protest and condemn the ongoing Turkish military assaults. For over a month, Turkish forces and their allied Islamist militias have targeted the dam with heavy weaponry and airstrikes, causing significant damage to the infrastructure.
The AANES warned on Tuesday that the Tishreen Dam is on the brink of collapse due to the ongoing attacks. They cautioned that if the dam were to burst, the resulting surge of water could trigger the failure of the Tabqa Dam, Syria’s largest, which holds 16 billion cubic metres of water.
The potential collapse of the Tabqa Dam would have catastrophic consequences, flooding large areas of agricultural land from Tabqa to Raqqa, and possibly extending into parts of Iraq. Additionally, the region’s power supply would be severely impacted, as both the Tishreen and Tabqa dams work together to generate vital electricity for northern Syria.
Turkish strikes escalate over strategic northern Syria sites
The AANES has called on the Global Coalition to Defeat Da’esh (ISIS), the United Nations and local human rights organisations to take action to stop the attacks.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), with the Turkish army again bombing the dam with war planes on Wednesday morning, adding to the risk of the dam bursting.
