Syrian forces deployed at key dam after deal with Kurds

(Patria) - Security forces of the new government in Damascus were deployed on Saturday around a strategic dam in northern Syria, in accordance with an agreement with the autonomous Kurdish administration, state media reported, as cited by AFP.

According to the agreement, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters will withdraw from the dam, which they seized from the Islamic State (ISIL) group at the end of 2015.

The Tishrin Dam near Manbij in Aleppo province is one of several on the Euphrates and its tributaries in Syria that play a crucial role in the nation's economy by providing water for irrigation and hydroelectric power.

On Thursday, a Kurdish source said that Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria had reached an agreement with the central government on the management of the dam.

A separate Kurdish source told AFP on Saturday that the agreement, which is being monitored by the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, stipulates that the dam will remain under Kurdish civilian administration.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported the "entry of Syrian Arab Army forces and security forces into the Tishrin Dam... to impose security in the region, according to the agreement reached with the SDF".

The agreement also calls for joint military forces to protect the dam and for the withdrawal of Turkish-backed factions "who seek to disrupt this agreement," SANA said.

This is part of a broader agreement reached in mid-March between interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi, aimed at integrating the institutions of the Kurdish autonomous administration into the national government.

The dam has been a key battlefield in the Syrian war that broke out in 2011. It first fell into the hands of rebels, then ISIL, before being seized by SDF members.