Kurdistan: Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah €š¬…¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦‚¬Å“calan described the ongoing fighting between the Syrian army and Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria as an attempt to sabotage the peace process initiated in Turkey with the party’s fighters.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) quoted €š¬…¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦‚¬Å“calan as saying that he views the current situation as an attempt to sabotage the peace process and prevent the establishment of a democratic society.

The Syrian army announced after midnight last night that it had seized control of the strategic city of Tabqa and the adjacent Euphrates Dam in northern Syria, marking a new step in its advance against Kurdish forces that have enjoyed self-rule in the region for over a decade.

In a statement, the Syrian army said it had taken control of Tabqa military airport hours after entering the strategic city, which is adjacent to the country’s largest dam and one of Syria’s largest hydroelectric power plants. Tabqa is a transportation hub on an axis linking Aleppo to eastern Syria and borders the airport, which has been transformed into a strategic military base.

Earlier on Saturday morning, the Syrian army announced that its forces had seized large areas of the eastern Aleppo countryside, a day after Kurdish forces announced their agreement to withdraw from them. The army also threatened to bomb Raqqa province, where the self-administration had imposed a curfew.