Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces captured Tabqa airbase, west of Raqqa

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America’s Flawed, Kurdish-Led Strategy in Northern Syria

The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have advanced west of the Islamic State’s center of Raqqa in northern Syria.

The SDF moved into Tabqa airport, 45 km (28 miles) west of Raqqa and near Tabqa Dam, as ISIS warned that the dam could be in danger of collapse.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement it had seized the airbase, taken by ISIS from the Assad regime in August 2014.

Hundreds of families were fleeing the town of Tabqa to outlying areas, according to former residents in contact with relatives. US-led airstrikes in western Raqqa Province have reportedly killed at least 90 civilians in the past weeks.

“We call for immediate efforts to save people and protect them,” the opposition-run Local Council of Raqqa Province said in a statement. It urged the US-led coalition to provide safe passage to civilians and end bombing of infrastructure.

The capture of the airbase comes after weeks of political tensions over pursuit of the Raqqa offensive. Turkey objects to Kurdish involvement, asserting that the YPG militia — the leading faction in the SDF — is part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK.

Dam at Risk?

The Islamic State said on social media channels that Tabqa dam, about 40 km (25 miles) upstream from Raqqa and the air base, is at risk of collapse because of airstrikes and increased water levels.

ISIS said the dam, about 4.5 km long, is out of service with all flood gates were closed.

The director of the Assad’s General Authority of Euphrates Dam, Nejm Salem, said aerial attacks had disrupted internal control systems: “Before the latest strikes by the Americans, the dam was working. Two days ago, the dam was functioning normally. God forbid…there could be collapses or big failures that could lead to flooding.”

SDF spokesman Talal Silo denied that coalition strikes hit the structure of the dam. He said a US-supported airdrop of fighters last week prevented any damage by engaging ISIS away from the dam.

“The capture of the dam is being conducted slowly and carefully and this is why the liberation of the dam needs more time,” Silo asserted.

Footage from the dam on Monday:

TOP PHOTO: Inside Tabqa Airbase on Monday

Pro-Assad Forces Regain 2nd of 25 Towns & Villages in Northern Hama

After at least six waves of counter-attacks, pro-Assad air and ground forces have regained control of Maarzef in northern Hama Province.

The pro-Assad forces are trying to retake about 25 towns and villages lost since the beginning of last Tuesday’s rebel offensive that closed within 5 km (3 miles) of Hama city.

The regime also reclaimed Kawkab last weekend. It has halted the rebel advance at Qomhana, a key town north of Hama city.

See Syria Daily, March 25: The Battle for Qomhana in Hama Province

Footage of the attacks on Maarzef:

White Helmets Rescuer Killed in Daraa

A White Helmets rescuer was among four civilians killed on Monday by regime bombing of Daraa city in southern Syria, according to opposition media.

Volunteer Ala’a Abazeed died in a “double tap” strike, as he and other rescuers rushed to help victims of an initial attack.

ABAZEED

Orient News said at least 19 missiles and 22 barrel bombs were fired today on the city, amid fighting between pro-Assad and rebel forces.

Abazeed is the third White Helmets rescuer killed in the past week. More than 160 volunteers have been slain by regime attacks since the civil defense organization was formed in 2013.

US Drone Kills 6 From Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Including Commander

In the latest US attack on members of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham bloc, a drone has killed six members, including a commander.

The men were travelling from Idlib Province to the frontline against the Assad regime in northern Hama Province. One of the victims was named as Abu Jabar Hamawi, the HTS’s leading sharia judge in Idlib.

HTS CAR STRUCK 03-17

Rebels Pushing ISIS Out of Last Positions in Eastern Qalamoun

Rebels are continuing their advance against the Islamic State in the eastern Qalamoun region near the Iraqi border, pushing ISIS out of its remaining positions.

The Free Syrian Army said its factions took the Bir al-Qasab area, the biggest ISIS stronghold in Suweida Province, and several other positions.

The FSA also said ISIS has withdrawn from the Hawsh Hamad and Lajat areas in northern Daraa Province.

This month’s rebel offensive has taken more than 2,000 square km (772 square miles) from ISIS in the eastern Qalamoun desert.

See US Special Forces and Rebel Offensive v. ISIS in Eastern Syria

2nd Set of Forced Removals from al-Wa’er in Homs

The second set of forced removals from al-Wa’er, the last opposition district in Homs city, is underway.

About 20,000 of the neighborhood’s 50,000 residents are being moved to areas in northern Syria, following a capitulation agreement earlier this month.

The first set of about 2,000 rebels, family members, and other civilians were transferred to Jarablus on the Turkish-Syrian border on March 18. The removal of the second group of another 1,850 people to Jarablus was delayed on Saturday because of fighting in northern Hama Province.

An image from today’s convoy of 45 buses:

AL WAER REMOVAL 03-17

Opposition: Help Us and We Will “Turn Against Extremists”

Syria’s opposition has said it needs international help to stop the Assad regime’s attacks and displacement of civilians, and to then turn against extremist factions.

Basma Kodmani of the High Negotiations Committee spoke on Sunday about the battlefield alliance between rebels and the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham bloc, which includes Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Jabhat al-Nusra), formerly connected with Al Qa’eda.

Kodmani said the opposition believed in “unambiguous condemnation, disassociation from, and willingness to fight the terrorist groups”:

The fact that Nusra or Tahrir al-Sham puts itself in those battles does not mean in any way that this is a new alliance or a renewed alliance.

We are fed up with Nusra. They are the biggest danger inside the areas where the opposition is sitting. But if you are bombed from above, you just have to postpone the battle against extremists, even though they are a mortal danger for you.

The day the international community gives us anything to work with, believe me, the opposition will immediately turn against all the extremists and expel them from their areas.

Kodmani said local rebels were trying to prevent more forced displacement of civilians, carried out by the Assad regime and its allies in eastern Aleppo city, in Damascus suburbs, and in the al-Wa’er district of Homs in the past seven months.

“What options is the international community giving the population, for God’s sake? What can we tell people on the ground? Don’t use force? They only have force,” she said. “This is not about terror and about working with terrorists. It’s about who protects civilians.”

Kodmani reiterated, “We cannot get the jihadis out, we cannot have the moderates fight the extremists, if we do not have a ceasefire and Iran-led militias included in the call for withdrawal of all foreign fighters.”