Syrian troops clash with Kurdish forces as both sides trade blame for breaking withdrawal deal
At least four Syrian soldiers and an unknown number of Kurdish-led troops have been killed in clashes that broke out during the agreed withdrawal of Kurdish fighters across the Euphrates River. The Syrian army says it has now entered the city of Taqba on the river's west bank, which the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces say they had not agreed to leave.
Issued on: 17/01/2026
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FRANCE 24
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FRANCE 24
Syrian troops swept through towns in the country's north on Saturday following an agreed withdrawal by Kurdish fighters there, but clashes erupted when the army kept up its advance deeper into Kurdish-held territory.
For days, Syrian troops had amassed around a cluster of villages that lie just west of the winding Euphrates River and had called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stationed there to redeploy their forces on the opposite bank of the river.
Overnight, SDF head Mazloum Abdi said his forces would withdraw early on Saturday morning as a gesture of goodwill, leaving the river as a front line between Syrian government troops to its west and Kurdish forces to its east.
But clashes broke out in some towns and oil fields on Saturday as the SDF and Syria's army accused each other of violating the agreement, with Kurdish authorities saying Syrian troops were pushing into towns not included in the withdrawal deal.
Kurdish authorities in northern Syria ordered a curfew for the Raqqa region "until further notice", as government forces advanced and threatened to bomb sites in the area.
After taking control of territory outside Aleppo city earlier Saturday, the army designated a swathe of Kurdish-held territory in Raqqa province southwest of the Euphrates River, including the city of Tabqa, a "closed military zone".
'A lot of contradictory information': Syrian and Kurdish forces clash along the Euphrates River
The Syrian army said on Saturday night it had begun entering the city of Tabqa, adding that it was "encircling" the Kurdish forces at their military airport.
"Syrian army forces have begun entering the city of Tabqa via various axes, in parallel with encircling the PKK terrorist militias inside Tabqa military airport," the operations unit of the army told the official SANA news agency.
The United States Central Command urged Syrian government forces to halt its advance.
CENTCOM "urges Syrian government forces to cease any offensive actions in the areas between Aleppo and al-Tabqa", it said on X. "Aggressively pursuing ISIS (the Islamic State group) and relentlessly applying military pressure requires teamwork among Syrian partners."
Remaining Arab residents celebrate troops' arrival
Syrian troops moved relatively smoothly into the main town of Deir Hafer and surrounding villages whose residents are predominantly Arab, according to statements from the military.
Some residents had left in recent days through a humanitarian corridor set up by Syria's army but those who stayed celebrated the army's arrival.
"It happened with the least amount of losses. There's been enough blood in this country, Syria. We have sacrificed and lost enough – people are tired of it," Hussein al-Khalaf, a resident of Deir Hafer, told Reuters.
Kurdish granted national language status in Syria
SDF forces had withdrawn east, some on foot, towards the flashpoint town of Tabqa – downstream but still on the western side of the river, according to a Reuters reporter in the area.
But when Syria's army announced it was aiming to capture Tabqa next, the SDF said it wasn't part of the original deal and that it would fight to keep the town, as well as oil fields in its vicinity.
Syria's army said four of its troops had been killed in attacks by Kurdish militants, and the SDF said some of its own fighters had been killed, but did not give a number.
US-led coalition planes flew over the flashpoint towns, releasing warning flares, according to a Syrian security source.
'The goal is to destroy the Syrian Democratic Forces': Clashes break out between army and Kurds
In a bid to end the fighting, US envoy Tom Barrack travelled to Erbil in northern Iraq on Saturday to meet with both Abdi and Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, according to two Kurdish sources. There was no immediate comment from Barrack's spokesperson.
France's President Emmanuel Macron and the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, in telephone talks on Saturday urged a cessation of fighting in Syria, the French presidency said.
They "called on all parties for an immediate de-escalation and a permanent ceasefire", it said, after fighting between Syrian Kurdish forces and government troops in the country's north.
Deepening divides
Weeks of tensions between Syrian troops and the SDF have deepened the fault-line between the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has vowed to reunify the fractured country after 14 years of war, and local Kurdish authorities wary of his Islamist-led administration.
The two sides engaged in months of talks last year to integrate Kurdish-run military and civilian bodies into Syrian state institutions by the end of 2025, insisting repeatedly that they wanted to resolve disputes diplomatically.
But after the deadline passed with little progress, clashes broke out earlier this month in the northern city of Aleppo and ended with a withdrawal of Kurdish fighters.
Amid continued sectarian violence, Syrians face mass displacement
PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24
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Syrian troops then amassed around towns in the north and east to pressure Kurdish authorities into making concessions in the deadlocked talks with Damascus.
Kurdish authorities still hold key Arab-majority areas in the country's east, including some of Syria's largest oil and gas fields. Arab tribal leaders in SDF-held territory have told Reuters they are ready to take up arms against the Kurdish force if Syria's army issues orders to do so.
Kurdish fears have been deepened by bouts of sectarian violence last year, when nearly 1,500 Alawites were killed by government-aligned forces in western Syria and hundreds of Druze were killed in southern Syria, some in execution-style killings.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
Syrian army enters areas east of Aleppo as Kurds withdraw
DW with AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters
16 hours ago16 hours ago
The Syrian army announced that it had taken control of Deir Hafer, a town previously under Kurdish control located east of Aleppo.
The Syrian army announced that it had taken control of Deir Hafer, a town previously under Kurdish control located east of Aleppo.
The Syrian army entered Deir Hafer, which is located 50 kilometers east of Aleppo
Image: Abdulfettah Huseyin/Anadolu Agency/IMAGO
The Syrian army announced on Saturday that it had taken control of Deir Hafer, a town located to the east of Aleppo.
The announcement came one day after the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to withdraw from the area.
The army announced on state television that it had established "full military control" of Deir Hafer. Meanwhile, reporters from news agencies on the ground witnessed troops deploying inside the town.
The Syrian military announced that they had also captured the Jarrah airbase, located east of Deir Hafer, as well as the nearby town of Maskana and more than 30 villages.
Later on Saturday, both sides accused each other of not adhering to the withdrawal deal. The Syrian army claimed that two of its soldiers were killed, while the SDF claimed that several of its fighters were killed.
What did SDF say?
On Friday night, after government forces began attacking SDF positions in Deir Hafer, Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led fighters, announced on X that his group would withdraw from contested areas in northern Syria.
Abdi announced that the SDF would start moving east of the Euphrates River at 7:00 a.m. local time on Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, Syrian authorities said that thousands of people had fled the towns of Deir Hafir and Maskana to escape the ongoing conflict between government troops and the SDF.
Last week, deadly clashes erupted between government troops and SDF in Aleppo. The fighting ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from three neighborhoods that had been taken over by government forces.
Why are Syrian army and SDF clashing?
Fighting broke out between the Syrian army and Kurdish-led forces as negotiations stalled between Damascus and the SDF over an agreement reached in March 2025. The agreement aimed to integrate their forces and allow the central government to take control of institutions, including border crossings and oil fields, in the northeast.
During Syria's civil war, the SDF was considered the United States' most important ally in fighting the extremist "Islamic State" group.
However, the transitional government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa accuses the SDF of tolerating al-Assad loyalists and members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) within its ranks.
In turn, Kurdish representatives distrust assurances by al-Sharaa, the former leader of the Islamist group HTS, that their rights will be protected. They also warn of a possible resurgence of the "Islamic State".
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
The Syrian army announced on Saturday that it had taken control of Deir Hafer, a town located to the east of Aleppo.
The announcement came one day after the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to withdraw from the area.
The army announced on state television that it had established "full military control" of Deir Hafer. Meanwhile, reporters from news agencies on the ground witnessed troops deploying inside the town.
The Syrian military announced that they had also captured the Jarrah airbase, located east of Deir Hafer, as well as the nearby town of Maskana and more than 30 villages.
Later on Saturday, both sides accused each other of not adhering to the withdrawal deal. The Syrian army claimed that two of its soldiers were killed, while the SDF claimed that several of its fighters were killed.
What did SDF say?
On Friday night, after government forces began attacking SDF positions in Deir Hafer, Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led fighters, announced on X that his group would withdraw from contested areas in northern Syria.
Abdi announced that the SDF would start moving east of the Euphrates River at 7:00 a.m. local time on Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, Syrian authorities said that thousands of people had fled the towns of Deir Hafir and Maskana to escape the ongoing conflict between government troops and the SDF.
Last week, deadly clashes erupted between government troops and SDF in Aleppo. The fighting ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from three neighborhoods that had been taken over by government forces.
Why are Syrian army and SDF clashing?
Fighting broke out between the Syrian army and Kurdish-led forces as negotiations stalled between Damascus and the SDF over an agreement reached in March 2025. The agreement aimed to integrate their forces and allow the central government to take control of institutions, including border crossings and oil fields, in the northeast.
During Syria's civil war, the SDF was considered the United States' most important ally in fighting the extremist "Islamic State" group.
However, the transitional government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa accuses the SDF of tolerating al-Assad loyalists and members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) within its ranks.
In turn, Kurdish representatives distrust assurances by al-Sharaa, the former leader of the Islamist group HTS, that their rights will be protected. They also warn of a possible resurgence of the "Islamic State".
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
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