On 27 November 2024, as attacks intensified across Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) advanced toward Damascus, while Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) mercenaries pushed toward the city of Manbij (Minbic). By 8 December 2024, HTS had entered Damascus and ended the Baath regime’s rule, while Turkish-backed mercenaries entered Manbij and occupied the city. On the same day, these groups launched an attack on the Tishrin Dam, located 25 kilometres to the southeast and serving as a key energy distribution centre. History would shift at this dam. When the Turkish-supported mercenaries began their assault on the Tishrin Dam, they encountered resistance they had not anticipated. On one side stood the fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ); on the other side, ISIS forces reassembled under the polished and repackaged name of the SNA by Turkey. Against thousands of mercenaries deployed with heavy aerial and ground support, equipped with advanced Turkish military technology, the SDF and YPJ fighters mounted a spectacular resistance through tunnel-warfare tactics, despite immense hardship and material scarcity. After one month of this frontline resistance, the people of North and East Syria mobilized under the perspective of a revolutionary people’s war. On 8 January 2025, they arrived at the Tishrin Dam to join the stance of SDF and YPJ fighters, defending both their land and its energy resources and, in the truest sense, protecting their homeland and dignity through a collective vigil.
On the first anniversary of the unprecedented resistance at the Tishrin Dam, YPJ Commander Viyan Kobanê, one of the leading commanders of the struggle, spoke to ANF about the historic battle.
This is the first part of the interview.
How do you evaluate the one-year period following regime change in Syria, and the developments after the fall of the Assad regime, before turning to the resistance at the Tishrin Dam?
On 27 November 2024, an attack was carried out against the Baath regime. They advanced from Shehba into Aleppo and Damascus. These attacks continued all the way to Manbij. Plans for the collapse of the regime had existed long before. From its emergence to its downfall, the Assad regime was far from playing a role that could protect the Arab people or defend the peoples of North and East Syria. There had been pressure from international powers, but the regime remained passive throughout its history, as if saying, ‘No one should approach me, and I will approach no one.’ During the period of the Rojava Revolution, it was already understood that the Assad regime was not in a position to sustain itself. Before 27 November 2024, when ISIS regrouped and reappeared under a different name, HTS, they knew well that the Assad regime was weak. When attacks were launched against the regime, it did not know how to take cover or how to fight. In the last 15 years in Syria, many clashes and wars have occurred. Groups like al-Nusra, under various names, carried out multiple attacks on the regime. But the regime always remained silent and never responded forcefully. For this reason, the regime brought about its own end. When HTS took Aleppo, the regime’s fate was sealed even before they entered Damascus. When HTS, together with the Turkish state and the mercenaries it supports, entered Manbij, resistance emerged there too. As the regime collapsed, a wave of panic spread among the population. After occupying Manbij, intoxicated by their sense of victory, they turned their direction toward Tishrin.
HTS and Turkish-backed mercenaries turned their direction toward Tishrin, as you said. How did the attacks begin, and what was their main objective?
The mercenaries entered Tishrin on the afternoon of 8 December. After taking Aleppoand Damascus and bringing down the regime, they wanted to seize Rojava Kurdistan by riding the momentum they had gained. They had already taken Manbij, and their next target was to occupy Tabqa and encircle Kobanê. We all know the historic resistance of Kobanê. We will never forget that history. The spirit we carried into the resistance at the Tishrin Dam was the spirit of the Kobanê resistance. We never once forgot this. Many of our commanders and pioneering comrades fell martyr in Kobanê. We grew up in their hands. We learned so much from them. We carried that spirit into Tishrin. The objective of the mercenaries was to take Kobanê. In the first attack launched by HTS and the mercenaries backed by the Turkish state against the Tishrin Dam, their primary target was always Kobanê. Because since 2014, Kobanê has been an unhealed wound in the heart of the Turkish state. Kobanê became a resistance that resonated across the world. That is why they wanted to occupy and take Kobanê in 2024, a goal they had failed to achieve until now. But the objective and planning they had envisioned did not materialize. When they entered Tishrin, they encountered a great resistance. Even though we had weaknesses in some areas, and even if the level of struggle did not fully reach what we desired, the unparalleled resistance displayed at Tishrin proved everything.
When the mercenaries entered Tishrin, you were on the front line of the resistance. What were you feeling in that moment, and what did you witness?
Regardless of how the mercenaries advanced toward the dam, we were never going to allow them through. Even if they stepped over our martyrs’ bodies, we would not have allowed them to set foot on these sacred lands. We have martyrs in this land. On every inch of ground we step on, we paid a heavy price; we gave martyrs. The Rojava Revolution did not happen on its own. We gave tens of thousands of martyrs. The mercenaries wanted to enter easily. But when they reached Tishrin and faced our resistance, they were shocked. They fell into panic. They had not expected to encounter such resistance. There was a football field near the frontline positions, and the mercenaries had taken shelter there. While they were speaking among themselves, I witnessed a moment between them. They were shouting at each other. They were trying to push one another forward to fight. When a few of them tried to force another group to advance, that group refused. And when this happened, they began shooting each other. When they tried to enter the buildings from which we held our defensive positions, our comrades responded with tremendous resistance. They also had tanks and tried to advance on our positions with them, but our comrades destroyed their tanks. Because they could not move forward against our resistance, they started shooting each other from behind. There were daily attacks. Their goal was to break our frontline and drown us inside the dam.
The Turkish state and the mercenaries under its command used advanced technology at Tishrin, yet your tunnel-warfare tactics neutralized them. What impact did this tactic, your own method of defence, have on the course of the resistance?
We had an underground system. It was a crucial position for planning: how could we fight, and how could we strike the mercenaries effectively? Working in small teams, we emerged from the tunnels, hit them, and then returned safely underground. The mercenaries were stunned. This tactic created panic and fear among them. We overheard their conversations. Soldiers would tell another mercenary who was coordinating the battle, ‘We do not want to go to the dam; you are sending us to our deaths.’ These were the kinds of things they were saying. There was intense panic among them and that panic was created by the resistance at Tishrin. There were very few of us at the dam. Sometimes we would say that in certain resistance areas, you do not need large numbers. It is better to have small numbers who are professional, who know what they are doing, who know how to fight, and who know what tactics to use against the enemy. Since 2012, Rojava has been in a great resistance. That spirit of resistance still continues. That spirit never dies. Every fighter who struggled and resisted at Tishrin carried that spirit within them. Through the radio, our comrades in the resistance would tell us, ‘No matter what happens, we will not let the mercenaries pass.’ Our comrades fell martyr here. They gave their lives to prevent the mercenaries from crossing the dam and committing genocide against our people. We are the protectors of the people and for our people, we give our lives without hesitation.