Tishrin Dam, Qaraquzaq Bridge are the fronts of defense against Turkish occupation state ambitions

Syria entered its new year free from six decades of rule by the Ba'ath Party, which had governed the country with an iron fist, imposing oppression and tyranny on the Syrian components in general, within a dictatorial system that produced crises, turning the country into a global and regional battleground at the expense of the Syrian people's blood. 

Most regions of Syria have been celebrating for weeks the end of a dark era in the country's history, while the Turkish occupying state is trying to take advantage of the Syrian preoccupation with Assad's departure to control northern Syria as part of its dreams of restoring Ottoman glory.

Turkish ambitions continue according to what is known as the "Misak-ı Millî," clearly promoting the idea that Aleppo is a Turkish city. This was evident when the Turkish flag was raised over Aleppo Citadel during the entry of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham fighters into the city and the withdrawal of the Syrian regime from it weeks ago. The prominent leader of Turkey's deep state, Devlet Bahçeli, stated in a speech before the parliament, "We have succeeded in annexing the 82nd province," affirming that Aleppo is no different from Istanbul.

While the interior regions of Syria are experiencing relative calm, the northern front is ablaze with Turkish occupation attacks against the northern and eastern regions of Syria, and Turkish efforts to seize more territory.

The attacks are accompanied by a series of visits by Turkish officials to Damascus and meetings with the Syrian interim government, where acts of control and guardianship are evident, including statements about Turkey's readiness to train the new Syrian army, participate in energy projects, and even demarcate maritime borders, in attempts to legitimize its occupation of Syria and place the new government under its wing.

The Tishrin Dam front is the first line of defense for Raqqa.

 In the north, the Syrians are waging a historic resistance against the Ottoman ambitions of Turkey, which threaten the unity of Syrian territory. The fronts of the Tishrin Dam and the Qaraquzaq Bridge form the resistance front against Turkish attacks on Syria.

After the occupation of Manbij on December 10 of the previous year, Turkish occupation forces and their affiliated mercenary groups aimed to control the Tishrin Dam, located 30 km southeast of the city of Manbij. The Tishrin Dam is a hydroelectric station and the second largest dam in Syria, storing approximately two billion cubic meters of water and supplying electricity to the areas of Manbij, Kobani, and other towns.

For the past 20 days, the ground attacks by the Turkish state-affiliated mercenary groups, despite Turkish air cover using drones and warplanes and 280 aerial bombardments, have failed to advance towards the villages that the Syrian Democratic Forces have turned into the first line of defense for the Tishrin Dam, on the western bank of the Euphrates River, 8 kilometers from the dam.

 The Women's Protection Units and the Manbij Military Council, using modern techniques and various military tactics, inflicted heavy losses on the attacking mercenary groups over the past weeks. Military leaders reported the killing of no less than 400 mercenaries and the wounding of hundreds more in a series of violent attacks targeting villages around the dam, preventing the Turkish occupation from reaching the Tishrin Dam. This forced the occupation to issue false statements about occupying the dam through the Turkish Ministry of Defense, which were denied by the media office with documents and video clips proving the falsehood of the Turkish claims.

The Tishrin Dam front forms the first line of defense for the regions of Tabqa and Raqqa, which the Turkish state is trying to reach by occupying the dam and directing mercenaries to those areas.

The Qaraquzaq Bridge front is the first line of defense for Kobani.

Thirty kilometers south of Kobani, the Qaraquzaq Bridge connects the eastern Euphrates with the western side. The bridge has witnessed a historic resistance by the Syrian Democratic Forces over the past weeks, as the battle for the bridge has turned into the frontline against Turkish ambitions to cross into the eastern Euphrates and besiege the city of Kobani.

On the eastern bank of the river and near the bridge, Turkey demanded to deploy its forces at the site of the tomb of Suleiman Shah, which Turkey relocated in 2015, and to return the remains there. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) welcomed this conditionally, provided it was done according to the previously existing agreement. However, Turkey's demand was to build a military base at the site, which the SDF rejected.

Despite the Turkish threats and military mobilizations around Kobani, the attacks on the Qaraquzaq Bridge and the surrounding villages did not stop. Videos published by the Syrian Democratic Forces showed the Turkish occupation state building military bases within days on the hills surrounding the bridge on the western bank of the river.

Under the auspices of the United States in the ceasefire process between the SDF and the Turkish occupation, the latter did not comply and continued to violate the agreement and launch bloody attacks.

The Battle of Kobani against ISIS in 2014 was a turning point in thwarting Turkey's plan to occupy northern Syria in collaboration with ISIS. The coordination between the International Coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces contributed to the defeat of ISIS and the dismantling of the Turkish-ISIS scheme in Syria, which intensified Turkey's animosity towards Kobani, a symbol for the Kurds and the world, as it witnessed the spark of the revolution on July 19, 2012.

All Turkish attempts to occupy Kobani and undermine the autonomous administration project and implement the Misak-ı Millî through the occupation of northern Syria and Iraq converge here, as Kobani is the decisive point in executing this plan. Before that, the battle of the Qaraquzaq Bridge constitutes the essential part of this turning point, which is considered the first line of defense for Kobani.

The downing of a Turkish Bayraktar drone by the Syrian Democratic Forces on the first day of the new year, and the previous downing of two drones of the same type around the Karkamış Bridge, along with airstrikes against Turkish bases and mercenaries, are indications that the battle against the Syrian Democratic Forces will not be as easy as the Turkish state believes.

T/Satt.

ANHA