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.

Why did you decide to embed with the SDF units on this
particular campaign for the Tabqa dam?

Well, I
decided to follow the ongoing campaign to liberate Tabqa because its
capture would be a crucial step in the eventual liberation of Raqqa.
You see, Raqqa and Mosul are the two most important locations for the
IS, and I knew this would be an important battle against a group that
has not only threatened people of Syria, but the region and, really,
the world. Because Raqqa is the IS’s capital, it relies on Tabqa,
and specifically the dam there, for water and electricity as well as
revenue. If, and when, the SDF are able to completely capture the
dam, they will essentially have their hands at the levers of the
whole region.

I am primarily based in Kobane, a city a few
hours to the north of Tabqa. But when I heard the SDF were going to
launch their offensive to re-take Raqqa, in November 2016, I
travelled to Ain Issa–or Bozanê in Kurdish–a small city just north
of Raqqa that had been liberated by the YPG in June 2015. The SDF
launched their operation for Raqqa, ‘Wrath of Euphrates’, from
that village and I have been embedded with the SDF and reporting on
events from that time.

Then, on the 21st of March, I got
wind that the SDF were about to launch a new campaign to re-take
Tabqa. Knowing the importance of the dam to the region and what
success there could spell in terms of a final defeat of the IS, I
made immediate arrangements to travel to cover the story.

The
next day I travelled to the small village of Suweyda, just north of
Tabqa city, where the SDF had set up a makeshift press centre.
Several days later, on the 27th of March, SDF forces along with a
handful of journalists embedded with them and myself, crossed the
Assad lake at night by boat to the west side of the dam’s
reservoir.

There was a real sense of nervous excitement by
all of us as the operation proceeded at lightning pace. Also, because
we knew we were just kilometres away from areas heavily patrolled by
the IS, and SDF forces in previous attempts at liberating these areas
had come under heavy, heavy attack. After successfully crossing the
lake, I stayed on with SDF forces as they worked to liberate areas
west and south of the dam under IS control.

I am now based
in a reasonably secure location, and travel daily to the front and to
some of the newly liberated areas. Whilst in those areas I try to
investigate what happened in the days previous, interview fighters or
civilians, and also report on how the operations are faring.

Many
here in Syria, as well as people throughout the world, will know that
this offensive is one of the most important since the start of the
Syrian war in 2011. This operation has the potential to end IS rule
in Syria, and hopefully the region, and will be a significant turning
point in a brutal war that has created enormous suffering. It is very
important that there are journalists here reporting on the events and
keeping the world updated on its developments.

What
is the importance of the city of Raqqa within the context of Syria
today?

Simply put, it is very important. The
southern part of the city is situated directly on the Euphrates river
and is a crucial agricultural area for the whole of the Syrian
state.

The city is also important related to its
diversity, as though Arabs comprise most the population; Kurds,
Assyrian and other ethnic minority groups also live there.

Raqqa,
and its surrounding areas, are also significant geopolitically. The
reason for that is because it’s an industrialised region with
significant reserves of petrol. With the construction of the dam
project beginning in 1968, the reach of these industries increased
substantially. You see, Tabqa is a dual-purpose dam, meaning that it
also has a hydroelectric power station and provides electricity and
well as drinking water and a substantial irrigation supply to the
region.

Though, the importance of the dam is also what
made it vulnerable to and an early target of the Syrian opposition.
The dam first came under opposition control in February 2013, and
later when that opposition solidified into the IS, they utilised the
dam’s resources to build up Raqqa as their capital. They even
engaged in ‘dirty deals’ with the Syrian regime, their sworn
enemy, selling them the largest part of the electricity generated by
the dam, which became one of their chief revenue streams. 

Raqqa
then became the economic centre for the IS as well as the base for
their political and military operations. So, as you can see, this
battle is all or nothing for them. If, and when, the ‘Wrath of
Euphrates’ is successful, if not tangibly, but symbolically IS will
be finished.

Can you explain in more detail how
the SDF crossed over the Euphrates? Photographs generated by the IS
on social media showed fighters in parachutes. Were those accounts
genuine or faked? 

On the evening of the
21st of March, the day of the launch of the campaign, SDF forces
packed into transport helicopters, carrying military equipment, and
crossed the lake just west of the dam. At the same time, and in loose
cooperation with the SDF, an international coalition (IC) against the
IS, launched an air attack against IS positions in the area,
targeting specifically the places where the SDF had planned to
land.

The SDF/IC attack completely overwhelmed the IS, and
their resistance was easily quelled without any loss of life. With
this initial stage of the campaign realised, SDF ground forces were
able to cross the river by boat the very next morning.

There
was no need for any forces to use parachutes, and any accounts of
that are false.

Can you tell us how the Tabqa
campaign evolved from that point?

Well, after the
SDF ground forces were able to cross the lake, they immediately began
liberating the towns and villages surrounding Tabqa, whilst at the
same time beginning to encircle the city. The SDF attacks had forced
the IS to flee and these areas were liberated without much effort. In
the days that followed, the areas that came under the protection of
the SDF began to stabilise, and the SDF took the decision that they
could push on towards the north and west, and finally, just
yesterday, they have completely encircled the town.

The SDF did encounter some fierce clashes with the IS, especially
when trying to capture the dam, but they overcame them and liberated
the most parts of the dam and surrounding regions. The contingent of
SDF forces, which crossed the dam reservoir, coming from the
southwest of the city, took the airport without much difficulty. The
airport had previously been used as a strategic air force base for
the Syrian army before coming under IS control. Capturing this
airport was just another step in destroying their hold on the
region. 

Despite their rather comprehensive defeat,
the IS continue to launch counter attacks against SDF forces, but
thus far these have been deflected.

What is the
composition of the forces fighting the Tabqa campaign? And how
involved are the YPG and YPJ?

The SDF is a
coalition force made up of the YPG and YPJ (Women’s Defence Units)
as well as different mainly Arab military forces. The YPG/J have been
involved in the SDF and this operation from its inception.

From
my perspective, ten days into the campaign, participation of fighters
from different forces is fairly balanced between the various ethnic
and religious communities of northern Syria and this composition
hasn’t really changed during the campaign.

I meet SDF
forces from the YPG/J and other coalition partners almost daily
throughout the liberated areas I travel to, and all have been engaged
in the different campaigns of the operation.

What
is your daily interaction with the SDF like?

Overall,
my interaction with the SDF is very positive. Journalists embedded
with the SDF remain in very close proximity to the forces—you know,
we are with them at the frontlines of battles, stay with them at the
military bases, and we are regularly in contact with them about the
campaigns’ progress.

I also find that individual SDF
fighters are generally very open to speaking to the press, and their
overall approach and demeanour is congenial. To me that exemplifies
in many ways the ideology of the larger movement, and their strong
commitment to the liberation of their people and their lands. Though
the SDF are primarily a military force, what underlines that is a
sincere commitment to values that had inspired the early days of the
revolutionary resistance in Syria.

For the YPG/J, who are
more directly connected the Kurdish freedom struggle, participation
in the military units is merely one feature of a popular struggle
that has, for over forty years, attempted to nurture horizontalist
social structures that value democracy, gender equality and a
cooperative economy.

And being with the fighters day in
and day out, you begin to see and to realise that those values and
commitments are not simply trolled out at press conferences and then
tucked away at war-time. They are embodied in the culture of the
units, and they inform how they interact with one another, but also
with the civilians from the areas they liberate.

So, I
would say that their sincerity in tangible, and it creates an affable
energy between the fighters and ourselves [the journalists], and
really enhances the feeling of solidarity between us.

It
is also important to note that the SDF forces are mainly composed of
people from the areas themselves, or from nearby regions. In that
way, they can see themselves in the villagers and know, intimately,
their struggles. This is in part why the SDF have gone to lengths to
minimise any damage done to structures, especially houses in the
areas they liberate. The areas around Tabqa are primarily rural
farming villages, and housing structures are built using traditional
methods of clay earth and wood, and are more vulnerable. But
fortunately, very few structures were damaged or destroyed during
this campaign.

I cannot say the same, however, for Tabqa
Airport which came under heavy bombardment is almost entirely
demolished. Much of the airport was destroyed following its capture
by the IS in 2014. But later, whatever remaining sections had endured
were then devastated when the Syrian regime forces went up against
the IS in the region in 2014. As fighting has basically been ongoing
since then, bombed-out buildings and destroyed vehicles, planes, and
roads have been left to rot.

Can you tell us more
about the specific role played by the IC in the Tabqa
campaign?

Sure, well the campaign to liberate
Tabqa was executed in close coordination with the IC, made up of many
countries’ forces but with the US at the helm. The IC’s
contribution has mainly focused on airstrikes and other kinds of air
support and with a limited number of armoured vehicles provided
recently. There are no IC soldiers fighting on the ground. The air
campaign relies heavily on information provided by SDF ground forces,
and whenever the SDF comes under heavy bombardment from the IS, the
IC is there to provide air support, artillery and personal carriers.
The SDF has worked in cooperation with the IC for more than two
years, and the partnership has remained militarily valuable with no
serious tensions between members of the IC. 

How
does the SDF view the success of operation ‘Wrath of Euphrates’
in terms of the military situation on the ground? 

The
SDF see the operation as extremely effective given that they have
recently been able to fully encircle Tabqa and liberate almost the
whole dam and all the areas surrounding it. Though the operation took
months to plan, and had to proceed with near surgical execution, all
efforts have paid off and every single campaign has reached its
objectives.

A careful approach has proved successful,
especially in light of the fact that there has been very little loss
of life amongst the SDF forces and civilians in the areas. Also, as I
mentioned early, destruction to property has been extremely limited,
and it is clear that people from the areas support in a growing
number the SDF and this operation.

In fact, following the
liberation of these areas, many local people have started to join the
ranks of the SDF – thousands, since the beginning of the
offensive.

The SDF is really concentrated on liberating
all Tabqa which is happening as we speak as fighters have encircled
all of the city. Many in the SDF are cautiously optimistic,
recognising that as we push towards Raqqa, the IS will continue to
fiercely resist and will deploy their best technology to do so.

Can
you tell us more about the relationship between the local population
and the SDF, especially considering the forces entering some of the
heartlands of the IS?

Yes, with the liberation of
towns like Minbic, Gire Spi, Tel Abyad, Sarin—all predominately
Arab—many of these local people have joined the SDF ranks. The SDF
has put the figure of new fighters at somewhere exceeding 20,000.
This does not include Arab populations living in and around the
liberated areas of Raqqa city itself, who have also joined in
thousands in the last months. 

Once civilians commit
to join the SDF they are required to undergo a period of combat
training and military education. This period is imperative, not
simply for the safety of the new recruits, but also in terms of the
continued success of the operations themselves, as many join with
little or no prior combat experience or skills. The implementation of
a period of training is also a result of the SDF’s learning from
mistakes made in the past and trying to correct those—where they
had seen new recruits, without enough practice in the battlefield
prove weak in clashes with the IS.

The considerable
numbers of new recruits, as well as the welcoming attitudes of the
newly liberated local populations confirm that a majority of the
population supports the SDF, and their political perspective and
objectives.

I think it is also a testimony to just how
much people have endured under the IS—both how much they suffered,
but how resilient they are as well. The strength of people’s hope
despite what they’ve endured remains, perhaps, the bravest aspect
of this revolution. And it is the fuel that allows the political
imagination to burn brightly in the hearts and minds of civilians and
soldiers alike—to reach for this collective vision of a new, just
and peaceful society that gets closer with each passing day.

Can
you tell us about the current condition of the Tabqa dam? How badly
it has been damaged in the recent fighting?

Yes.
As I talked about before, the dam has been crucial to life in this
region. In addition to supply an important amount to the electricity
of North Syria, it is also responsible for supplying clean drinking
water for the entire city of Aleppo! And it also irrigates many ten
thousands of hectares of land, you know, it’s a real backbone for
agriculture here. So, the dam is really an economic imperative, in
addition to some of its other benefits, like serving as a military
barrier due to the body of water that surrounds it.

Due to
the dam’s size and strength, whomever controls it is also able to
rule the people and lands surrounding it, which was the case when it
was under the control of the Baath regime and IS. However, in
resistance to that, sort of, negative history, the SDF and the
Democratic Federation of North Syria (which is composed for an
important part of Rojava, the mainly Kurdish populated area) decided
to declare the dam a resource that was to be used for the benefit of
all people in Syria, and mutually and equitably managed – not, as
it had been, as a weapon to dominate others.

In terms of
where the campaign is at now, the SDF has thus far taken control of
more than half the dam, at its northern and central parts.

Intense clashes over the last several days have led to a bit of a
stalemate concerning the dam itself. Given the strategic importance
of the dam, SDF forces have proceeded very cautiously, with
meticulous efforts to limit loss of life or damage to the dam
itself.

Some days ago, the IS alleged on its Twitter page,
that the dam was damaged after IC airstrikes, during a period of
dangerously high water levels—which would have created deadly
flooding in the area. However, these claims appear to be largely
unfounded. In fact, the SDF commissioned an assemblage of engineers
to release pressure on the dam by opening its floodgates, which it
had done under heavy shelling from the IS.

The SDF
maintain that it is actually the IS whose attacks, especially against
the engineers, have caused the most potential damage to the
dam.

Nonetheless, as you can see, the dam is, in a
symbolic sense, a barometer for conflict. The liberation of the
remaining sections of the dam will spell the liberation of the town
of Tabqa, and will be a definitive turning point in this war.

A
few days ago, the IS again used social media to allege that they were
able to use an armoured drone to attack SDF boats crossing the dam’s
reservoir. Is this also IS propaganda or is it real?

Yes,
the photographs are genuine, and I know because I was at the boat
which was the first target of this attack. Thankfully, though there
was some damage to the boat, nobody was killed. The IS continued to
attack SDF boats by drone, but they were not able to do any lasting
damage. The SDF has since taken measures so that this sort of attack
cannot be repeated.

Can you describe the current
situation for civilians living in the newly liberated areas?

Yes,
well the IS often attempt to impede the local population from leaving
their homes as war approaches because they know many will side with
the SDF, and even possibly join their ranks.

For the last
few years the IS has been feeding the local people on a steady diet
of propaganda against the SDF. But people are easily able to see
through the ‘alternative facts’ presented by the IS, and often
approach the SDF fighters with a joy and relief that appears genuine.
Many weep – they know the liberation of their village or town means
an end to the fascist rule of the IS over their lives. In areas with
larger populations, people walk away from the IS and towards the SDF
in waves, and it’s quite a sight. The literal walk towards freedom
of these people is the emblematic march towards freedom for the
country. And they carry that feeling not simply in their minds or
hearts, but across their faces—even their eyes smile.

Meeting
people whose experience concretises ideals I myself hold, and I know
the larger movement here—well, it’s been some of the most moving
experiences of my life.

What are your plans over
the next days and weeks?

I plan to remain
embedded with the SDF and continue to document this operation. I feel
I it is my duty to be here and to document this moment in history,
and continue to transmit to my people and to the world. I very much
hope to be reporting soon from a liberated Tabqa town—and then
Raqqa! I will remain here until I am there to witness the very moment
of the liberation of Raqqa, and hopefully the closing chapter of a
terrible blip in human history. We will answer its brutality and
terror with the strength of our solidarity and love.