The vicinity of the Syrian city of Raqqah has been flooded with watter from the Tabqah dam recently captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
According to the SDF Press Center, ISIS terrorists had used irrigation channels (linked with the dam) to do this. However, it is not clear what goal ISIS could pursue with this move.
In turn, ISIS reported that the SDF did this by itself in order to flood ISIS undergroud tunnels in the area.
In any case, the city is on the verge of the humanitarian crisis.
ISIS actively uses and builds a network of undeground tunels around and inside the city. The terrorist group is going to use this network during the battle for Raqqah.
The notion of flooding Raqqah to some extent seems a good strategy. The tunnels will be flooded and cannot be used thereafter.
The timing seems to be awkward as the assault is not about to begin.
So, I expect a new flooding somewhere in the summer once the SDF has enterd the city itself.
for once I find the ISIS version somehow credible
They still control the baath dam though. They might be an outbreak of contagious diseases also so you do wonder.
I doubt a short inundation will cause much outbreak of disease, the more so as it is not yet high summer.
A longer inundation, especially in high summer, is another matter.
Yea why do u think they flooded it now?
It might even be as IS said.
I think the opening of the flood gates some two to three weeks ago played a role, that is when they lowered some of the pressure on the Tabqah dam.
And here we worried the terrorists would flood the Euphrates. No one expected the Kurds ( the us) would flood the valley.
I expected it. just sufficiently to flood ISIS tunnels in Raqqa, though like DN I expected it just a bit later and I didn’t expect them to blame it on ISIS.
I’m pretty sure this is just more of the six weeks worth of flooding from the al Balik river/irrigation channel. The water comes from the al Rei/Ray gates that the SDF opened last month to relieve pressure on the Tabqa/Euphrates Dam. The side effect (not totally unintentional) was to release way too much water, flooding many of the lower parts eastern Raqqa near the channel.
Between the flooding, cholera outbreak and lack of electricity, this is driving civilians out of Raqqa that might otherwise stay, which is both good and bad. They won’t get bombed when the US/SDF levels Raqqa, but they are probably going to die of disease or starvation fleeing to north to barren SDF territory. There are no camps nor international food/medical aid. It’s like an open-air concentration camp; Raqqa refugees will be trying to live there for months.
Some reports said ISIS had a dirt dam across al Balik that broke. That’s nonsense – there’s a torrent of water coming through the fast-flowing concrete-lined al Balik channel. There were probably flood control levees (not dams) that have collapsed from the six weeks-plus of high water. Besides, the U.S. has bombed anything resembling a bridge across the channel, and the SDF has had fire control over all the channel banks for months, now. Even if they could, nobody is going to be building a dam in the al Balik channel without getting a bullet in the head from a YPJ sniper.
This has nothing to do directly with the main Tabqa/Euphrates Dam floodgates or the Baath Dam a few km downstream. The gates could be opened on both of those to flood the lower-lying sections of south Raqqa near the river. I expect the US/SDF to do that when they 1) have taken Baath Dam and 2) begin moving on Raqqa from the south. They don’t need a catastrophic flood in Raqqa. It’s a very low-lying city. A foot of water is enough to make residents flee, flood ISIS tunnels and generally interfere with their usual VBIED tactics.
You did predict something like this 2 weeks ago. Good job!
Actually, some other smart guys a lot more knowledgeable about Raqqa predicted this a long time ago, Mike. I just thought it made sense and repeated it here. I only take credit for being a useful parrot, not a great strategist.
I just wish it were the SAA retaking raqqa and not SDF
We appreciate the knowledge you share with us. Thank you
I remember. Well done! @pavewayiv:disqus
They’ll live well in SDF territory since most have been on starvation rations due to ISIS price gouging at the markets.
Who cares….
Anyone in raqqa is either a terrorist or a terrorist supporter…
A nice clean bath for them.
Raqqa had population of around 250k before the war. There are still around 100-150k civilians trapped in Raqqa, most of them want to have nothing to do with ISIS.
How do you know? Got any numbers to back it up? No? Then let the slaughter begin…
It’s an educated guess based on pre-war population (public data) and development in other similar areas. Even if it was half of that, it’s still a lot of civilians to be concerned about.
No thats what a butcher would Do sir. This is what thé enemy wants to justify à foreign invasion, always always treat civilians with love and compassion, think of the Aleppo liberation around Christmas and the following celebration of all faiths together…
Thats how WE want it done, otherwise were just like the Saudi barbarians we just fought for 7 years.cheers sir!
NO. They are foreign fighter invaders that brought in their “family”… The “family” often times went to a WARZONE under their own god given FREE WILL… If they are that stupid, then they should be removed from the DNA pool, they are dead weight..
Buh Bye. Silly brit…
You cant paint everyone with thé same brush dude, There surely are jihadi families, but its not all the civilians come on now.
Also im à french canadian
They did welcome ISIS into the city and region.
Thats a very clever pull of the YPG to flood all the tunnels! – since this will shorten the battle of raqqa if the terrorists loose half of her coverring and backing! May be that they had even stored there some ammunitions… And for the civilians it will not be so dangerous since the waters are just high enough to flood the tunnels but not the roofs to sleep on it! Yea it is like to drown the rats in her wholes…
Besides ammo, ISIS may have foodstuffs, fuels, generators and water pumps stored in the tunnels.
Why would SDF lie and say ISIS did this? Why would they flood their own tunnels and stuff? Makes no sense
Long answer:
The SDF is an American creation, tgr. You have to look at the soldiers/commanders in it and THEIR motivations (generally good/honorable) from the organization itself. U.S./western intelligence added a lot of extra baggage to the SDF organization and its administration that has nothing to do with the soldiers. I don’t know how formal that administration is – there may not actually be formal administrative positions that report to anyone, nonetheless they (or their functions) are most certainly there. The SDF isn’t just a military coalition – it’s a tool the U.S. and western intel uses to get Kurds and Arabs use to the idea of having a federal master to serve.
Soros and like-minded neocon psychopaths have created the PR machine for the SDF. Plenty of us recognized it immediately by the lies and peculiar smell of their propaganda. It’s confusing because you want to associate this PR machine with the behavior of the actual YPG/YPJ fighters and Arab militias that make up the SDF. In fact, the average YPG/YPJ fighter knows nothing about the propaganda machine that exists to feed public opinion in the west. That propaganda machine does not simply support the SDF and cheer their victories even though it looks like that at face value. They also inject plenty of statist twists to everything that happens – they want to make it look like everyone in the SDF is fighting for a federal organization – a replacement government for eastern Syria. Why? Because a replacement government can be usurped. You can’t usurp an ideology or the notion of ‘freedom’.
The SDF will never be the replacement government, but it is (in the minds of western intel) the model for it. One ring to rule them all. Soros and the other reptiles only twist on this is to build a unified (and usurpable) government via democracy. Have the little people vote in their own masters and make them use to obeying ‘their’ government. As soon as that happens, they are vulnerable. Just start corrupting that government with bribes, extortion and foreign agents. It always works and it works 100% of the time – eventually.
So the answer to “Why would the SDF lie?” (via their Soros-funded PR machine) is the same as the answer to why any usurped government would lie: demonization of enemies and building a consensus of unthinking obedience and dependence on ‘the government’. The US seeks to ‘train’ the independent-minded YPG/YPJ and Arab militias to this idea from the inside and outside. The SDF propaganda machine is the Soros-created outside piece. The SDF will not be the new government, but the statist seeds will have already been sewn. After the defeat of ISIS, the next step is to have members of the SDF coalition freely and democratically vote in their own masters, because people are easily duped by that scam EVERY time. Once the ‘targets’ have been voted in, Soros and western intel will get to work owning them.
Great answer!
Thank you for the very detailed explanation!
I like how there is no doubt in the discussion about who caused the flood :-) Their bullshit must have just reached new low: “ISIS flooded themselves cause … er, wait! What?”
ISIS did because all they have left running the show are fuck-ups.
Oh nooo! :-( God have mercy on Syria… Smh
Didn’t Daesh dig a moat around Raqqa to force the SDF to stay on the few roads that would cross the big ditch? Perhaps the local commander felt it was time to fill it up with water and once they cranked the flood gates wide open, the knuckleheads discovered they needed power to the electric motors to close them?