A U.N. mission has visityed the Euphrates Dam after it was damaged in Syrian government airstrikes.
The dam is under threat of collapse after it was damaged in airstrikes on 7 September, the Raqqa media center reported.
The center said that the delegation inspected the site where an explosive barrel was dropped, leaving a 40 cm diameter hole.
Following the U.N. visit, the regime commander of al-Tabka military air base said the bombing was an unintentional mistake.
The chairman of rebel Free Syrian Army Joint Chief of Staff, Selim Idriss described his concern about the dam, which holds back Lake Assad and some 14 million cubic feet of water.
Idriss warned that if the dam collapsed it would flood populated areas below. “The regime is trying to destroy the dam, and if they do that, there’s millions of cubic meters of water that would be very dangerous,” he said. “We are very worried that hundreds or thousands could be killed.” The dam is also a major supplier of electricity to the Damascus area.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
......
