Women's Defense Units (YPJ) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Rojda Felat spoke to ANHA on the latest developments in the operation to liberate Tabqa, why the operation is taking this long and the obstacles the forces faced during their advance.

Rojda Felat mentioned the start of the operation and said: “On March 21, the operation to lay siege to the town of Tabqa was lauched and our forces achieved many gains up to date.”

Rojda Felat said the Turkish state owned weapons that ISIS gangs used were seized by the SDF fighters and added: “During the operation, our forces have seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition given to the ISIS gangs by other states.”

SDF Commander stated that the operation is drawing to a close and called on the people of Tabqa: “We are calling on our people to reach the safe zones liberated by the SDF.”

On the operation taking long, Rojda Felat said: “The first point that prevents our forces from advancing fast is the presence of civilians. The second is that our fighters advance slowly to sweep the landmines so our forces and our people are not harmed.”

Rojda Felat said the following on the liberated neighborhoods in Tabqa: “Due to the circumstances we are experiencing, we may not be able to provide everything completely, but the people stay in their own places in the liberated neighborhoods and now the bakeries are working.”