Syria
A video purportedly showing Damascus-affiliated forces entering Deir Hafer east of Aleppo on January 17, 2026. Photo: Screengrab / Submitted
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday said their fighters were engaged in intense clashes with the Syrian Arab Army and allied armed factions, despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States and other international actors.
In a statement, the SDF said it was fighting Syrian army forces and affiliated groups in the al-Rasafa area, while reinforcing defensive positions to prevent further advances. The group also said clashes were ongoing at the Thawra oil field near Tabqa, in Raqqa province.
Earlier on Saturday, the Syrian Arab Army said it had taken control of several oil fields in the SDF-held Tabqa area.
The Syrian military also launched fresh attacks on SDF positions in Deir Hafer and surrounding areas in eastern Aleppo province, according to the Kurdish-led force, despite the ceasefire. Under the truce, the SDF had agreed to withdraw fighters from three areas west of the Euphrates River, a move it described as a goodwill gesture aimed at preventing further escalation.
However, the SDF accused Damascus of violating the ceasefire by launching new attacks while its forces were preparing to withdraw to areas east of the Euphrates.
Elham Ahmed, a senior official of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), said in a post on X that despite the SDF’s agreement to withdraw its forces, “units affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) have violated this agreement.”
State-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) later reported that the Syrian army had secured the city. Earlier, the SDF said it had repelled an attack in the city of Maskanah.
The SDF also said its fighters were “besieged” by Syrian army forces in Deir Hafer and Maskanah despite the truce.
“We hold the Damascus government and the international guarantor powers fully responsible for the security and lives of our besieged fighters, and we stress the necessity of guaranteeing their safe passage, with their weapons, to the regions of North and East Syria,” the SDF said.
Footage seen by Rudaw showed SDF forces being ambushed by Damascus-aligned armed factions as they were retreating from Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo, about 15 kilometers from Tabqa.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on March 10, aimed at integrating the civil and military institutions of northeast Syria (Rojava) into state structures and establishing a nationwide ceasefire. The process has since stalled.
After expelling Kurdish fighters from two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo earlier this week, Damascus expanded its operations into SDF-held areas of eastern Aleppo province, including Deir Hafer, Maskanah and surrounding districts. The areas were declared “closed military zones,” and residents were ordered to evacuate by Friday evening.
Capturing the territory would allow Syrian interim government forces to open a corridor linking Aleppo to Raqqa province, the former stronghold of the Islamic State (ISIS), and increase military pressure on the SDF along the Euphrates River.
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