The Syrian army advanced toward the Tishrin Dam on Monday, which is located southwest of Manbij, as they moved to retake the strategic site from the U.S.-backed YPG terrorist group, according to reports from Anadolu Agency (AA) journalists on the ground.
Reporters said YPG militants began withdrawing from positions around the dam area as Syrian troops advanced, with no clashes reported between the sides since Monday morning.
The Syrian army had launched an operation late Thursday targeting YPG militant positions around the dam, triggering intermittent heavy fighting, though control lines initially remained unchanged.
Renewed clashes were also reported Sunday in the area surrounding the dam, which remains under the terrorist group’s control.
The Tishrin Dam, situated on the Euphrates River, is Syria’s second-largest hydroelectric facility and holds strategic importance for energy and water management.
Last week, Syrian forces began operations to push YPG elements from areas west of the Euphrates.
Military operations appear to be limiting the YPG’s movement in post-Assad Syria, where the group aspired to retain its “autonomy” in the northeast that lingered for more than a decade. Damascus hoped that the YPG would implement a March 2025 deal signed between its leader Ferhat Abdi Şahin and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa by the end of 2025.
However, the YPG dragged its feet in its integration with the Syrian army under the deal and persisted in “decentralization.”
Most recently, the Syrian government has signed a new agreement with the YPG terrorist group that ends weeklong clashes in the country’s north and formally merges the group into the state, President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced Sunday, after government forces advanced in YPG-held areas of the country's north and east.
The YPG is dominated by the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, which has waged a decadeslong terror campaign that killed 40,000 people in Türkiye.
