The Syrian military is advancing towards Raqqa, the stronghold of the United States-trained, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after capturing the northern strategic metropolis of Tabqa and its navy airport on the Euphrates River in a lightning offensive.
Authorities forces captured the Euphrates Dam, also referred to as the Tabqa Dam, about 50km (31 miles) west of Raqqa metropolis, after heavy preventing with SDF forces. Authorities forces are amassing heavy navy gear in Raqqa governorate, which has been beneath SDF management since 2015.
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Preventing erupted between the military and SDF forces in Aleppo on January 6 after talks geared toward integrating the Kurdish fighters into Syria’s nationwide military stalled. The 2 sides additionally clashed final month earlier than a deadline for the SDF to put down its heavy weapons and hand over management of areas in Aleppo to the nationwide military.
So what’s the newest scenario on the bottom? Will the offensive by the Syrian military heighten the battle in northern Syria?
What’s the newest from Syria’s northeast?
On Sunday, the Syrian military took control of Tabqa, about 40km (24 miles) west of Raqqa. It additionally captured the Euphrates Dam, the biggest within the nation and adjoining to the strategic metropolis, in addition to the Freedom Dam, previously generally known as the Baath Dam.
Authorities-allied teams mentioned they’ve taken management of the Asayish headquarters, the safety and police power within the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, within the city of Markada whereas tribal fighters allied with the federal government have taken management of a number of main oil- and gasfields within the northeast, together with Jafra and Conoco situated in Deir Az Zor province bordering Iraq.
The Syrian Petroleum Firm mentioned Syrian forces seized the Rasafa and Sufyan oilfields in Raqqa, which might now be returned to manufacturing, based on the Reuters information company.
Syrian state media on Sunday accused the SDF of utilizing drones in areas east of Deir Az Zor, one other SDF stronghold within the northeast.
Video clips and dwell footage revealed on social media and verified by Al Jazeera present celebrations within the cities of Hajin and al-Shuhayl within the japanese countryside of Deir Az Zor after information of the withdrawal of the SDF from the realm. The Deir Az Zor governorate has introduced the closure of all public establishments for the protection of residents as preventing continues to rage.
Syrian Ministry of Inside spokesman Noureddine al-Baba instructed Al Jazeera that police have secured all areas captured by Syrian troopers after the speedy territorial features over the previous few days.
On Saturday, the SDF withdrew from Deir Hafer and a few surrounding villages in Aleppo governorate which can be dwelling to predominantly Arab populations, after which Syrian forces moved in, triggering celebrations. Deir Hafer is about 50km (30 miles) east of Aleppo metropolis.
“It occurred with the least quantity of losses,” Hussein al-Khalaf, a resident of Deir Hafer, instructed Reuters. “There’s been sufficient blood on this nation, Syria. We have now sacrificed and misplaced sufficient. Individuals are bored with it.”
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, affiliated with the SDF, on Saturday accused the Syrian authorities of violating a withdrawal settlement, saying it “attacked our forces on a number of fronts since yesterday morning”. The SDF additionally warned that the assaults on Raqqa would possibly threaten safety as town hosts hundreds of ISIL (ISIS) detainees.
The US-backed SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, was shaped in 2015, practically 4 years after the armed rebellion in opposition to President Bashar al-Assad started. Al-Assad remained in energy till he was ousted in December 2024 by Syrian opposition fighters led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who’s now interim president.
The US envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, will meet SDF chief Mazloum Abdi (also referred to as Mazloum Kobani) and al-Sharaa on Sunday in Damascus, based on the Syrian Ministry of Data.
The renewed preventing has widened the rift between al-Sharaa’s authorities, which has pledged to reunify Syria after 14 years of warfare, and cautious Kurdish authorities who mistrust the brand new administration. On Friday al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a “nationwide language” and granting the minority group official recognition.
How important is the management of Raqqa?
Raqqa is an Arab-majority governorate in northern Syria and has a number of the nation’s largest oil- and gasfields.
Kurdish anxieties have been sharpened by sectarian bloodshed final 12 months when virtually 1,500 Alawites have been killed by pro-government forces in western Syria and a whole bunch of Druze have been killed in clashes within the south.
When the Syrian military seized these areas, Arab civilians took to the streets to rejoice.
“This indicated the social and demographic fragility of the SDF. Now the query is, will the SDF see this actuality and conform to calls for by Damascus to combine into the Syrian state,” Omer Ozkizilcik from the Atlantic Council’s Center East Applications mentioned.
Omar Abu Layla, a Syrian affairs analyst, instructed Al Jazeera Barrack tried on a number of events to deliver the SDF to the negotiating desk with the authorities in Damascus however “they didn’t take heed to him.”
Abu Layla mentioned the central authorities made many overtures to the group however the SDF “wasted time”, assuming the authorities in Damascus have been weak and permitting practically a 12 months to go since an agreement in March that might have seen the SDF’s forces built-in into the common military.
“What [we] are witnessing now within the area is the tip of the SDF,” he argued.
What was the March settlement between the Syrian military and SDF?
On March 10, al-Sharaa reached an settlement with Abdi.
The settlement emphasised the unity of Syria and stipulated that “all civil and navy establishments in northeastern Syria” be merged “into the administration of the Syrian state, together with border crossings, the airport and oil and gasoline fields”.
The settlement additionally included affirmation that the Kurdish individuals are integral to Syria and have a proper to citizenship and assured constitutional rights.
After a breakdown of this deal, heavy preventing between the SDF and Syrian military resumed within the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo metropolis final month. A US-brokered ceasefire took impact on January 10.
The SDF’s secular Kurdish management is linked to the Kurdish nationalist Kurdistan Staff’ Occasion (PKK), which fought a decades-old rise up in opposition to the Turkish state till final 12 months. Though the PKK introduced in Might that it might lay down its arms and disband, it’s nonetheless listed as a “terrorist” group by Turkiye, the European Union and the US.
Regardless of this, the US backed the SDF as a result of it was an efficient associate in opposition to ISIL, which the SDF and a US-led coalition defeated in northeastern Syria by 2019.
How has the US reacted?
Washington has urged the Syrian military to cease advancing into Kurdish-held territory.
Admiral Brad Cooper, who’s in control of US Central Command, which oversees the US navy’s Center East operations, wrote in an announcement revealed on X that the Syrian military ought to “stop any offensive actions in areas” between Aleppo metropolis and Tabqa.
Aleppo is roughly 160km (100 miles) west of Tabqa.
“Aggressively pursuing ISIS and relentlessly making use of navy stress requires teamwork amongst Syrian companions in coordination with US and coalition forces,” Cooper mentioned. “A Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors is crucial to peace and stability throughout the area.”
William Laurence, a professor at American College in Washington, DC, and a former US diplomat, mentioned “it’s going to be very tough” for the US to resolve the political deadlock between Syria’s authorities and the SDF.
“[US President Donald] Trump desires the short repair, and he desires Tom Barrack to kind of wave a magic wand and get what he desires. However that’s not likely how issues work,” Laurence instructed Al Jazeera.
“Sustainable options depend on trust-building, and we’ve had little or no of that.”
What has al-Sharaa mentioned?
After fierce clashes earlier this month, al-Sharaa issued a decree on Friday formally recognising Kurdish as a “nationwide language” and restoring citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians.
A minimum of 22 individuals have been killed and 173 wounded in Aleppo after preventing broke on the market on January 6.
The decree for the primary time grants Kurdish Syrians rights, together with recognition of their Kurdish identification as a part of Syria’s nationwide cloth. It designates Kurdish as a nationwide language alongside Arabic and permits colleges to show it.
It additionally abolishes measures courting to a 1962 census in Hasakah province that stripped many Kurds of Syrian nationality and grants citizenship to all affected residents, together with these beforehand registered as stateless.
The decree declares Newroz, the Kurdish New Yr pageant, a paid nationwide vacation. It bans ethnic or linguistic discrimination, requires state establishments to undertake inclusive nationwide messaging and units penalties for incitement to ethnic strife.
Reacting to the decree, the Kurdish administration in Syria’s north and northeast mentioned the decree was “a primary step, nonetheless it doesn’t fulfill the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian individuals”.
It added that “rights usually are not protected by non permanent decrees, however… by way of everlasting constitutions that categorical the need of the individuals and all parts” of a society.
