The article below originally appeared in Voice of America (VOA) on January 7th. Photo courtesy of VOA.
Nearly two weeks after regaining control of a strategic dam in northern Syria, Kurdish-led forces are struggling with continued blitzes from Islamic State militants who want to retake the area.
Tishrin Dam in Northern Syria
The fighting centers on the 900-meter-long Tishrin Dam, held by IS for more than a year until Kurdish and coalition forces retook it in December. It supplies electricity to much of northern Syria, and parts of Rojava.
On Thursday, a group of IS fighters attempted to infiltrate the nearby Kurdish-held town of Ain Issa. But local forces were able to thwart the plan, according to reports.
Another group of IS fighters entered the town of Sarrin, not far from Tishrin Dam, crossing from the western side of the Euphrates River. Fierce clashes erupted between them and the YPG Kurdish forces.
“Daesh [IS] wants to retake Tishrin Dam for strategic and symbolic reasons at the same time,” said Shervan Derwish, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish, Arab and Christian fighters.
Pressure from ISIS
With inclement weather in the region, U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on IS positions have slowed. This has allowed IS to reorganize its forces in order to make advances, Kurdish commanders said.
“They take advantage of weather conditions to wage constant attacks on our forces there,” Derwish told VOA.
The latest advances made by SDF near Tishrin and other areas south of Kobani have placed more pressure on IS militants, who are having difficulty moving from areas in eastern Syria to the parts they control in Aleppo and elsewhere.
“Tishrin Dam is now no longer in their [IS] hands, so they have to go all the way around,” said Brett McGurk, U.S. special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS, during a recent briefing at the State Department.
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