The Euphrates Dam, the day it became a weapon in the hands of ISIS threatens the presence of millions of people.
The Euphrates Dam is considered the second largest dam in the Middle East and one of the cultural and economic landmarks in northern and eastern Syria, it is the main source of electricity and irrigation in the region. But when the dam was controlled by terrorism, it turns into a threat to the presence of the region’s population.
The beginning of the story:
After the liberation of Tabqa and surrounding villages on April 15, 2017, by operation Euphrates’ volcano launched by the SDF, which was aimed at liberating the entire Euphrates region,
ISIS realized that it had reached the stage of death and demise, so ISIS used the dam as a base using detainees and civilians as human shields, most of ISIS dangerous leaders barricaded in the dam, threatening to open its gates or destroy it, which would have led to a humanitarian and environmental disaster that would have destroyed all towns and villages along the river path and displaced millions of people in Syria and Iraq.
Euphrates Dam is a time bomb in the hands of ISIS:
ISIS completely closed the main gates of the dam and the lake’s drainage channels in preparation, aiming at opening them all at once after storing large amount of water. Unusually, the Turkish occupation state, opened the gates of its dams on the Euphrates River to help ISIS in its plan, rising the lake’s water to un precedented level that caused damages to the surrounding agricultural land and the complete dry of the river in Deir Ezzor and other Iraqi cities located on the river. It also caused panic among residents of towns and villages on the river bed, particularly Raqqa, which was the first city to flood in a few minutes if the disaster struck. Hundreds of thousands of residents have sought refuge on the high hills with a scene similar to the day of doom.
The liberation:
The SDF was moving with great precision and sensitivity for two main objectives, first protecting civilians and not endangering them and avoiding any mistake that might harm the dam’s building. On May 10, 2017, the forces launched a thorough amphibious operation under cover of darkness and with the support of the international coalition forces, to be one of the most important and successful operations in the history of the forces, where many heroic fighters sacrificed their lives to make success of the operation, where their pure blood was blended with Euphrates water, forming with their bodies an impervious dam such as the Euphrates Dam in the face of terrorism and darkness.
Thus, the dam was liberated and millions of people were saved thanks to the heroism and sacrifices of the SDF, which proved its ability carry out sensitive operations and make wise decisions in the most difficult circumstances and situations.
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