Syrian Army Surges into Kurdish-Held Towns, Fraying Accord Prospects
Syrian Army Surges into Kurdish-Held Towns, Fraying Accord Prospects
Syrian forces push east into Kurdish-held towns, seizing Tabqa and major dams near Raqqa as clashes surge around Aleppo and Kurds accuse Damascus of breaking a stalled deal.
Syria’s army expanded its reach in the north, expelling Kurdish fighters from two Aleppo neighborhoods last week and, on Saturday, taking control of a broad area east of the city. State media announced the capture of Tabqa, a strategic city on the Euphrates, along with its dam and the major Freedom dam, west of Raqqa. The move came despite vociferous calls from the United States to halt the advance and underscores Damascus’s determination to extend control over Kurdish-run zones.
The government appears to be extending its grip after a March 2025 deal to fold Kurdish forces into the state stalled. In a decree, President Ahmed al-Sharaa declared Kurdish a national language and granted the minority official recognition, a measure framed as part of broader efforts toward national integration even as fighting intensified in the north.
Around Aleppo, the army had been amassing around a cluster of villages west of the Euphrates, and Kurdish-led SDF withdrew from the area early on Saturday as a goodwill gesture—only to later accuse Damascus of violating the agreement by pressing farther east into towns and oilfields not covered by the deal. The clashes south of Tabqa continued as both sides traded blame over who was breaking the terms of the agreement.
The SDF withdrawal and the subsequent clashes have left the fate of the river corridor uncertain. The government urged the SDF to fulfill its commitments and withdraw east of the river entirely, while U.S. forces continued strikes against Islamic State targets in the region. The broader region remains volatile, with diplomacy and battlefield gains overlapping and uncertainty about any lasting political settlement in sight.
Analysts say the current moves could threaten any momentum toward a political settlement and risk reshaping control of oilfields along the Euphrates, further complicating Kurdish rights within a unified state.
