Syrian government forces moved into two strategic towns east of Aleppo early Saturday after Kurdish-led fighters announced they would withdraw from the area, a development that appeared aimed at preventing a broader and more destructive confrontation between rival forces.
Troops entered the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana following days of heightened tension and clashes between government forces and the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
State media reported that two Syrian soldiers were killed and others wounded during an exchange of fire as troops advanced into Maskana. Despite the violence, government convoys continued pushing forward, consolidating control over both towns by the end of the day.
The takeover followed weeks of sporadic fighting that erupted earlier this month in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, where government forces and allied factions clashed with the SDF in several neighborhoods.
That confrontation ended with Kurdish fighters withdrawing from three districts that were later secured by government troops, setting the stage for the latest developments east of the city.
On Saturday morning, heavy military equipment rolled into Deir Hafer after bulldozers cleared makeshift barriers on the town’s outskirts. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and pickup trucks fitted with mounted machine guns were seen advancing through the area. There were no visible SDF fighters near the town’s entrances as government forces moved in.
The Syrian military later declared it had full control of Deir Hafer and said its units had captured the nearby Jarrah air base to the east. Officials said engineering teams were working to remove mines and unexploded ordnance left behind during earlier fighting. Hours later, military convoys were also seen entering Maskana, confirming the government’s expanding presence in the area.
Some residents welcomed the arrival of government troops. Hussein Mustafa, standing near the roadside as soldiers entered Deir Hafer, said the town was finally free from what he described as years of uncertainty and fear.
Another resident, Mohammed al-Jaber, echoed those sentiments, saying government control marked the end of rule by a group he viewed as hostile to the town.
The SDF, however, accused Damascus of violating the terms of a withdrawal agreement. In a statement, the Kurdish-led force said Syrian troops entered Deir Hafer and Maskana before its fighters had fully pulled back, creating what it called a highly dangerous situation that could have led to further bloodshed.
The SDF said it had agreed to evacuate the area to avoid escalation, not to provoke new clashes.
Syrian state media offered a different account, saying SDF fighters breached the agreement by attacking an army patrol near Maskana, killing two soldiers and wounding others. Government forces, according to official reports, continued moving eastward afterward, reaching additional villages in northern Raqqa province.
The fighting and looming offensive triggered a wave of displacement. Over the past two days, more than 11,000 civilians fled Deir Hafer and Maskana, traveling along secondary roads toward areas under firm government control. Many left behind homes and belongings after authorities announced plans to retake the towns.
Late Friday, as government forces intensified shelling of SDF positions around Deir Hafer, the SDF’s top commander, Mazloum Abdi, announced that his fighters would withdraw from contested areas in northern Syria. He said the pullback would begin early Saturday morning, with forces relocating east of the Euphrates River.
Tensions eased following visits by U.S. military officials, who traveled to Deir Hafer on Friday and held talks with SDF commanders. The United States maintains working relations with both the Kurdish-led forces and the Syrian government’s backers and has urged restraint to prevent the conflict from spiraling further.
Abdi was scheduled to meet later Saturday with U.S. special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. The meeting was expected to focus on preventing renewed clashes and formalizing arrangements that would keep SDF forces east of the Euphrates.
Regional mediation efforts also played a role. An official with Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party said party leaders had urged the SDF to withdraw from parts of northern Syria, a request initially resisted.
According to the official, KDP leader Masoud Barzani later communicated directly with Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who asked Barzani to help mediate. Both Abdi and Syrian officials agreed to the initiative, paving the way for the talks in Irbil.
The SDF’s decision to withdraw came a day after interim President al-Sharaa issued a decree expanding the rights of Syria’s Kurdish population, which made up about 10 percent of the country’s population before the conflict erupted in 2011. For decades, Kurds were marginalized under Baath Party rule and denied basic cultural recognition.
The decree formally recognized Kurdish as a national language alongside Arabic and declared Newroz, a traditional Kurdish spring festival, an official holiday. Government officials portrayed the move as a gesture of reconciliation aimed at healing long-standing grievances.
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria responded cautiously, saying that lasting protections for ethnic and cultural rights must be enshrined in the country’s constitution rather than granted through what they described as temporary decrees. Without constitutional guarantees, they warned, such measures could easily be reversed.
As Syrian forces consolidate their hold on Deir Hafer and Maskana, the developments underscore the fragile balance of power in northern Syria, where military maneuvering, international mediation, and political concessions are all shaping the next phase of a conflict that has yet to find a durable end.
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