ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday claimed that forces affiliated with the Syrian government have been targeting the strategic Tishrin Dam with "tanks and field artillery," creating a risk of severe human and material damage should the dam break.

"Shells have directly hit the dam's structure, in addition to workers' residences and nearby villages, posing an extremely serious threat to civilian lives and exposing vital infrastructure to catastrophic danger," the Kurdish-led force said in a statement, noting that the attacks began on Wednesday morning.

"These attacks, which come at a time when the situation demands de-escalation and the continuity of essential services, represent a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of ceasefire agreements," the SDF continued. "Their continuation will only lead to further tension and threats to stability in the region."

"We hold the Damascus government fully responsible for these violations and the severe consequences that may result from them, and we affirm the legitimate right to defend our people and forces against any threat or aggression," the statement concluded.

The SDF and Damascus have repeatedly clashed in recent months, with intermittent skirmishes threatening the feasibility of a March 10 agreement, signed between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, to integrate the SDF and institutions in the Kurdish-held northeast into the Syrian state.

"The continued existence of any entity like the SDF organization would endanger the security of Iraq, Turkey, and Syria," Sharaa said at a forum in New York on September 22.

In September, the SDF announced that factions affiliated with the Syrian government committed a “horrific massacre” in Deir Hafer’s Umm Tina village, resulting in the death of seven civilians.

Located in Syria's Aleppo province, the Tishrin Dam changed hands multiple times during the Syrian Civil War, with anti-Bashar al-Assad rebels capturing the site in 2012, the Islamic State (ISIS) seizing it in 2014, and the SDF taking control of the strategic infrastructure site in 2015.

In late November of last year, Turkish-backed forces launched a campaign under the name “Operation Dawn of Freedom” on several key areas controlled by the SDF, with the dam being a focal point in the clashes.

The Kurdish-run Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in May announced the conclusion of their security operations along the Tishrin Dam after "more than one hundred days."