Kurdish forces retreat as government troops advance across northern Syria

By Eyad Kourdi, Tim Lister

(CNN) — Syrian government forces have taken over a number of towns and villages in the Aleppo region after the command of Kurdish-led fighters said it would evacuate the area.

Army units took control of the town of Maskanah on Saturday, according to the military, and were continuing to advance.

There have been several confrontations between the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian military since the Islamist-led government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power just over a year ago.

Sharaa has pledged to unify the country after 14 years of civil war, but the Kurds want guarantees of their autonomy.

The SDF’s commander, Mazloum Abdi, pledged on Friday that his troops would begin withdrawing from positions east of Aleppo on Saturday, as part of a broader settlement that was agreed in principle last March.

“Based on calls from friendly countries and mediators, and as a sign of our goodwill to complete the integration process and to adhere to implementing the provisions of the March 10 agreement, we have decided to withdraw our forces … and to redeploy to areas east of the Euphrates,” Abdi said.

Part of the winding river, which flows south from the Turkish border, is now a de facto line between the two sides.

The Kurds’ withdrawal followed a visit to the area by a delegation of the US-led international coalition that maintains a presence in northern Syria.

The Syrian military moved into the town of Deir Hafer, some 50 kilometers east of Aleppo, on Saturday, according to geolocated video.

“Thank God it happened with the least amount of losses,” one resident, Hussein al-Khalaf, told Reuters. “There’s been enough blood in this country. … We have sacrificed and lost enough. People are tired of it.”

However, fighting continued Saturday in several areas. The SDF said its forces were engaged in intense clashes with government troops in the Thawra oil field area south of Tabqa, “which was outside the scope of the agreement,” it claimed.

The United States urged restraint on the part of Syrian troops.

“We welcome ongoing efforts by all parties in Syria to prevent escalation and pursue Resolution through dialogue,” US Central Command said in a statement Saturday. “We also urge Syrian government forces to cease any offensive actions in areas between Aleppo and al-Tabqa.”

The military has taken control of Thawra and another oil field in the region, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The SDF accused Syrian government forces of entering towns before its fighters had completed their withdrawal, calling it a breach of the agreement. It said some of its fighters were under siege in Deir Hafer “as a result of the Damascus government’s treachery.”

In turn, the Syrian military accused Kurdish fighters of firing on a Syrian army patrol near Maskanah, killing two soldiers.

The Syrian military also accused Kurdish units of planting explosives on a bridge on the road east to Raqqa, which remains under Kurdish control.

“Blowing up the bridge would disrupt the agreement, and there would be very severe consequences,” the Syrian army said in a statement Saturday.

The Kurdish-led authority in Raqqa, which is largely populated by Arabs, later declared a curfew in the region.

The violence has raged on despite a decree issued by Sharaa on Friday assuring the legal status and cultural rights of Syrian Kurdish citizens.

The Syrian presidency provided CNN with the text, which promises full citizenship rights for Kurds, thousands of whom — as well as their descendants — have been denied papers for 60 years. The decree also recognizes Kurdish as a “national language” and permits its teaching in public and private schools in areas where Kurds form a notable share of the population.

Whether the president’s decree and the SDF’s withdrawal can lead to a broader agreement and end the frequent bouts of clashes remains an open question.

Analysts say the SDF’s withdrawal from areas east of Aleppo appears to stem from a desire to avoid what could have become a losing battle. Kurdish units were driven out of several neighborhoods inside Aleppo earlier this month.

Kurdish-led authorities established a semi-autonomous administration in much of Syria’s north and east during the civil war and have resisted fully integrating into the Islamist-led government that took power after former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in late 2024.

Damascus reached a deal with the SDF last year that envisaged full integration of Kurdish fighters in the new Syrian army by the end of 2025, but progress has been limited, with both sides blaming the other.

The US envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, has been involved with efforts to seal a deal between the government and SDF.

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