Turkey continues its attacks against the Tishrin Dam in the autonomous region of North and East Syria. Airstrikes and artillery attacks by the Turkish army and allied mercenaries hit the area of the energy plant on the Euphrates.

Since the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power in Damascus at the beginning of December, Turkey has been using the resulting power vacuum for a new occupation offensive against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) regions. In addition to tanks, fighter jets and drones, the country is using its jihadist proxy force, the so-called “Syrian National Army” (SNA), with the primary goal of crushing the multi-ethnic and multi-religious autonomous region.

The focus of the attacks are the strategic crossings over the Euphrates River. In addition to the Tishrin Dam, which has already been severely damaged by heavy bombing and is vital for the survival of hundreds of thousands of people in the Euphrates Canton, as it provides water and electricity, the Qereqozax Bridge is also under constant attack. Turkey wants to take the crossings and push the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for a further advance to the symbolic border town of Kobanê east of the Euphrates River. The SDF are countering the invasion campaign with a self-defense offensive.

In order to stop the attacks, a civil vigil has been taking place on the site of the Tishrin Dam since the beginning of January, which is also exposed to constant bombing by Turkey and its allies. According to figures from the autonomous administration, 25 people have been killed and well over 200 more injured in air and artillery attacks since the beginning of the action. Nevertheless, the population continues their vigil. On Friday, a delegation of representatives from Arab and Kurdish tribes arrived at the dam.

After a civil Friday prayer, the chairman of the council of the Arab Tay tribe based in Qamishlo, Sheikh Hassan Farhan Al-Abd Al-Rahman, gave a speech and said: “We, that is women and men, tribal leaders and clergy, academics and activists, are different and yet the same. We have come together to make it clear: this is our country. We condemn the attacks on our regions and affirm that we will not accept an occupation of our homeland. We also condemn the silence in the face of the ongoing attacks. We want peace, nothing more.”