Russian General: US Airstrike Hit Tabqa Dam

Says US Trying to Complicate Post-War Reconstruction

Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, a top Russian general, today added further context to the concerns about the state of Syria’s Tabqa Dam, which is located to the west of Raqqa, saying US and coalition warplanes had recently struck the dam with an airstrike, and had destroyed four bridges in the area.

Col. Gen. Rudskoi insisted the coalition was trying to “completely destroy critical infrastructure in Syria and complicate post-war reconstruction as much as possible, warning that the collapse of the dam would be a “catastrophe” which would lead to a large civilian death toll.

ISIS had also warned a few days ago in a statement that they believe the dam is at risk of collapse, and that they have been trying to evacuate the population from certain areas that are most at risk if a collapse does happen. The US has insisted that they believe the dam is in fine shape.

The Tabqa hydroelectric dam was built by the Soviet Union some 50 years ago, and its condition was in question at the start of the war, with fighting around the area hindering the usual upkeep of such aging structures and putting them at further risk.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.