Syrian army enters areas east of Aleppo as Kurds withdraw

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 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