The Syrian Democratic Forces went on the attack at Tishreen Dam on Monday, December 23, 2024. Until then they had spent about two weeks absorbing assaults from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said fighters of the Manbij Military Council, operating along several axes, had taken the bodies of ten dead enemy fighters, captured one more and destroyed five military vehicles. “The counterattack is still ongoing across multiple axes,” he said, according to Rudaw. Rojava Information Center quoted an SDF source in similar terms: “The MMC have begun attacking,” with forces having “re-taken several positions” on the ground between the Euphrates and Manbij city.
Two weeks of defence first
The push followed a bad Saturday for the SNA, by the SDF’s account. The SDF said it killed 52 SNA fighters at the dam and lost five of its own. Before that, SNA units had tried and failed to cross the river at Tishreen Dam and the Qereqozak Bridge toward the Kobane countryside.
The wider fight dates to late November, when Turkish-backed groups opened an offensive against the SDF in northern Syria and took the towns of Shahba and Manbij. Washington tried to broker a temporary ceasefire. Turkey’s foreign ministry rejected that description, saying Ankara does not negotiate with what it calls “terrorist organizations.” Turkey treats the People’s Protection Units, the core of the SDF, as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
Why the dam matters
The dam sits on the Euphrates and supplies electricity to much of northeastern Syria, and to communities downstream including Raqqa. The SDF took it from ISIS in 2015 with American military help. Kurdish officials say the recent attacks have damaged the structure and cut its output. The Rojava Information Center reported that the dam was out of operation, affecting 2 million residents, and cited UNICEF’s warning that the disruption “has left many without access to clean water.”
The same group counted at least 68 civilians killed and 73 wounded in Turkish and SNA attacks since November 29, among them three people killed by a Turkish drone near Tel Brak, one a city council member.
Competing claims
Control of the dam was disputed within days. On December 26, Turkish state media, citing defence ministry officials, said the SNA held it. Shami answered with a video from the site. “I stand in the Tishreen Dam area, on the body of the dam, to be exact,” he said, calling the Turkish claim psychological warfare. He put SNA losses at over 450 over three weeks. That figure comes from one side only, and the Turkish account comes from the other.
Sources
- SDF Launches Counterattack at Tishreen Dam
- Update December 23 – SDF Counter-Offensive at the Tishreen Dam (Rojava Information Center)
- SDF Denies Loss of Tishreen Dam to Turkish-Backed Militants
