Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces near Tabqa Dam. Picture by Qasioun News Agency [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.On the 5th of November 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an extensive military operation called ‘Wrath of Euphrates’ to liberate the city of Raqqa and its surroundings from the Islamic State (IS). Raqqa is the de-facto capital of the IS controlled regions in Syria, and its fall would significantly weaken their rule.
The SDF is a broad military coalition of Arabs, Kurds and other people groups in northern Syria and considers itself as a democratic defence force against reactionary forces within Syria including IS and the Baath regime. One of its principle units is the predominately Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG). Led by the YPG, the SDF launched its offensive to re-take Raqqa, code-named operation ‘Wrath of Euphrates’, from the town of Ain Issa, 50 km north of Raqqa.
Since the launch of the operation, three campaigns have been successful in capturing big areas around the city of Raqqa and bringing it under SDF control.
On March 21st, a fourth campaign was launched aimed at the liberation of the Tabqa dam and its reservoir. Just 50 kilometres upstream from Raqqa city, the dam sits at a strategic crossroads, and its capture will prove a death knell for the IS. This campaign has, as of this writing, successfully liberated large parts of the dam and encircled the city of Tabqa, liberating the Safsafha villages that surround it.
The following is an interview about the Tabqa operation with ANF reporter Sinan Deniz who is based in Kobanê and is currently embedded with the SDF in the Operation Wrath of Euphrates.
