Syrian Government Forces Take Control of Northern Towns After Kurdish-Led Withdrawal

BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA

Syrian government forces moved into two strategic towns east of Aleppo early Saturday after Kurdish-led fighters announced they would evacuate the area, a step aimed at defusing escalating tensions but one that was quickly overshadowed by new clashes and competing claims of violations.

State media reported that two Syrian soldiers were killed and several others wounded during fighting linked to the advance. The developments marked the latest turn in a volatile confrontation between government troops and the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had flared earlier this month in and around Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Deir Hafer, a key town east of Aleppo, changed hands after days of intermittent fighting. The clashes ended with Kurdish-led fighters withdrawing from three neighborhoods that government forces had seized inside Aleppo. By Saturday morning, government units were seen entering Deir Hafer in force, with tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles moving in after earth barriers were cleared. Pickup trucks fitted with heavy machine guns followed the convoy, and there were no visible SDF fighters on the outskirts of the town.

The Syrian military said its forces had established full control over Deir Hafer, secured the nearby Jarrah air base to the east, and begun operations to clear land mines and unexploded ordnance. Military officials added that troops would continue advancing toward the neighboring town of Maskana. Hours later, a government convoy was observed rolling into Maskana, underscoring the speed of the operation.

The SDF disputed the government’s account, saying Damascus had breached a withdrawal agreement. In a statement, the Kurdish-led force said Syrian troops were supposed to enter Deir Hafer and Maskana only after SDF fighters had fully completed their pullout. “The government violated the terms of the agreement and entered the towns before our fighters had fully withdrawn,” the statement said, warning that the move created “a highly dangerous situation with potentially serious repercussions.”

State media countered that it was the SDF that violated the deal, reporting that Kurdish-led fighters targeted an army patrol near Maskana, killing two soldiers and wounding others. According to official accounts, government forces continued pushing eastward following the incident, reaching two villages in the northern province of Raqqa.

The military escalation triggered a wave of displacement. Over the past two days, more than 11,000 civilians fled Deir Hafer and Maskana, many traveling along side roads toward government-held areas after authorities announced plans for an offensive to retake the towns. Families were seen leaving with what belongings they could carry, amid fears that the fighting would intensify.

Late Friday, after government forces began heavy shelling of SDF positions in Deir Hafer, the Kurdish-led group’s top commander, Mazloum Abdi, announced that his forces would withdraw from contested areas in northern Syria. Writing on social media, Abdi said SDF fighters would relocate east of the Euphrates River starting early Saturday morning.

The apparent easing of tensions followed diplomatic efforts by the United States, which maintains ties with both sides. U.S. military officials visited Deir Hafer on Friday and held talks with SDF representatives, urging restraint and seeking to prevent a broader confrontation. Abdi was also scheduled to meet the U.S. special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, later Saturday in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, according to SDF officials.

The SDF’s decision to withdraw came a day after Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, issued a decree expanding the rights of the country’s Kurdish population. Kurds made up roughly 10 percent of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million and for decades faced marginalization under the Baath Party, which ruled the country until the fall of Bashar Assad in December 2024.

Al-Sharaa’s decree formally recognized Kurdish as a national language alongside Arabic and designated Newroz, the traditional Kurdish celebration of spring and renewal, as an official public holiday. The move was widely seen as an attempt to ease long-standing grievances and encourage dialogue amid a fragile political transition.

However, the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria responded cautiously, saying that meaningful protection of Kurdish rights must be enshrined in the country’s constitution rather than granted through temporary measures. In a statement issued Saturday, the administration said decrees alone “do not form a real guarantee for the rights of Syria’s ethnic groups,” signaling that deeper political negotiations will be required even as the military situation continues to shift on the ground.