GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to carry out urgent repairs to Tabqa Dam near the Syrian city of Raqqa in an area recaptured from Islamic State, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
The aid agency was able to enter Raqqa and Hassakeh provinces in late July for the first time in four years to see the destruction wrought by the jihadists, the fighting and U.S.-led coalition air strikes.
U.S.-backed Syrian militias drove Islamic State out of the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam, 45 kms (25 miles) west of Raqqa along the Euphrates River, in May, but it took time to negotiate safe access.
“The priority for us right now is the water issue,” ICRC spokeswoman Ingy Sedky, speaking from Damascus, told Reuters.