Fighting continues to rage in northern Syria’s Aleppo Province, as the Turkish-backed SNA attacks territory held by the Kurdish SDF. The SDF has continued to report repelling the offensives, though Turkey is increasingly carrying out airstrikes in support of those operations, and just generally against Kurdish towns and cities in the area.
The SDF has reported 12 civilians killed in the airstrikes on Monday and Tuesday, and dozens more wounded. The largest strike was against the city of Sarrin, on the east side of the Euphrates River near the Qere Qozal Bridge, which is the northernmost bridge across the Euphrates in Kurdish control and similarly has come under repeated aerial attack.
The drone strike on Sarrin has killed at least six civilians and wounded 22. What exactly Turkey intended to target is totally unclear, but the strike hit a crowded marketplace in the city. Another six civilians were killed and several more wounded in artillery strikes in and around the areas of Kobani and the Tishreen Dam.
Tishreen Dam continues to be a main target for the SNA and Turkish warplanes. Turkey has carried out multiple airstrikes against the Dam again today and continues to attack civilian demonstrators who are rallying around it.
The administration operating the Tishreen Dam, one of the largest sources of fresh water and electricity in northeastern Syria, has warned of “imminent” threats posed by Turkish strikes against the Dam and potentials for a partial or even total failure.
Damage sustained to the Dam has already meant an intermittent halt to electricity generation and disabled drainage pumps. It has likewise increased the size of leaks in the Dam. If it fails, it could further lead to flooding out multiple towns and villages in the area.
Turkey is said to believe if it has control of the Tishreen and Tabqa Dams it could leverage that to force the Kurds to disarm and agree to an unfavorable settlement. Taking the dams has proven much more difficult than expected though, and it’s increasingly likely they’ll end up destroying Tishreen before the SNA can seize it.
