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The Latest: UN envoy cautions against soft Syria partition

Associated Press
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FILE -- This undated image posted online Monday, May 1, 2017, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show an Islamic State fighter firing his weapon during clashes with U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa. A top Syrian Kurdish official said Wednesday, May 10, 2017, that the U.S. decision to arm Kurdish fighters with heavier weapons will help legitimize the force, which is denounced as a terrorist organization by Turkey. The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will arm the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces "as necessary" to recapture the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. (Militant Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this undated photo released Thursday, May 11, 2017, by Hawar News, the news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria, shows fighters from the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, patrolling on a street in Tabqa, northern Syria. Syrian Kurdish-led forces say they are carrying out mine-clearing operations at the country's largest dam and the nearby town of Tabqa a day after seizing them from Islamic State militants. Concerns were raised earlier this year that the dam could be damaged in the fighting or degraded by lack of maintenance, or that the extremists might sabotage it to flood the surrounding areas. (Hawar News Agency, via AP) (The Associated Press)

The Latest on Syria (all times local):

2:15 p.m.

The U.N.'s Syria envoy says a plan crafted by world powers to establish safe zones in the war-battered country should only be seen as an "interim" arrangement and not a precursor to partition.

Staffan de Mistura said Thursday that the proposal agreed upon by Russia, Iran and Turkey last week could lead to increased access by aid groups. But he said the safe zones should not be used as launch pads for new military operations.

De Mistura spoke ahead of a planned resumption of U.N.-mediated talks between the Syrian government and opposition next week in Geneva.

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1 p.m.

Syrian Kurdish-led forces say they are carrying out mine-clearing operations at the country's largest dam and the nearby town of Tabqa a day after seizing them from Islamic State militants.

The media office of the Syrian Democratic Forces said Thursday a special operation was underway to de-mine the dam and the surrounding area.

Concerns were raised earlier this year that the dam could be damaged in the fighting or degraded by lack of maintenance, or that the extremists might sabotage it to flood the surrounding areas.

The capture of Tabqa seven weeks after the launch of the SDF offensive, with help from the U.S.-led coalition, sets the stage for an advance on Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the extremists' self-styled caliphate, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the east.