Monday, March 27, 2017

US-backed Syria forces pause operations near Tabqa dam

US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive for a key dam held by ISIL to allow a technical team to enter the complex, a spokeswoman said.


There have been fears about the integrity of the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier United Nations warnings that a collapse would be "catastrophic".

With air support from the US-led coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates, as part of their battle to take the hardline group's self-declared capital of Raqqa.

"To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam ... we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00pm (1100 GMT)," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

"This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work," she added.

The decision followed a request by the Syrian government's water authority.
  [Al Jazeera and news agencies]
27/3/17
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