Tag Archives: SDF

After Damascus-SDF deal, Syrian security forces deploy in northeastern Syria

| February 4, 2026

Syrian government forces deployed into Al Hasakah and Qamishli in eastern Syria in early February under a January 30 agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The deal is aimed at ending clashes and restoring central authority in mainly Kurdish areas that the SDF still controls. The government deployment coincided with reports of continued US transfers of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq and US strikes on Islamic State targets.

Fate of prisons holding Islamic State fighters uncertain as Syrian government fights Syrian Democratic Forces

| January 19, 2026

Syrian government forces advancing into eastern Syria are increasingly taking over areas where Islamic State members have been held in prisons and detention facilities by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF said it lost control of Al Shaddadi prison, and the Syrian government asserted that it would secure the facility and round up prisoners who may have fled. Clashes also occurred near Aqtan prison north of Raqqa.

Syrian army besieges Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo following clashes

| January 7, 2026

Syrian army units have surrounded the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in Aleppo, both of which are controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The siege, which followed clashes, is the latest escalation after the two sides failed to move forward on a March 2025 agreement to integrate the SDF into the government.

PKK announcement of withdrawal from Turkey has ramifications for Iraq, Syria

| November 3, 2025

On October 26, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced that it was withdrawing its fighters from Turkey as part of a peace process with the Turkish government. Media reports indicate that the PKK may be moving to northern Iraq, leading to questions about how the withdrawal may affect the Kurdish regions of eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

After sectarian clashes in Aleppo, US, SDF, and Syrian government officials meet in Damascus

| October 7, 2025

Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa met with US Envoy Tom Barrack and the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, in Damascus on October 7. The meeting came in the wake of clashes between factions backed by the Syrian transitional government and Kurdish fighters in two neighborhoods in Aleppo. The head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Abdi, also met with Syria’s defense minister and agreed to a ceasefire between the SDF and government forces. Barrack, Cooper, and Abdi separately met in eastern Syria on October 6 to discuss integration between Syria’s east and Damascus, plus continued operations against the Islamic State.

Syrian integration in focus as Syrian President Sharaa speaks at UN

| September 26, 2025

Syrian transitional President Ahmed al Sharaa spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, urging support for rebuilding Syria and emphasizing the need for peace and stability in the country. Separately, a spokesperson for the largely Kurdish-run Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said there was increasing pressure on Damascus and AANES authorities in eastern Syria to come to an agreement, despite recent clashes.

Tensions grow between Damascus and eastern Syria amid continuing efforts to integrate factions

| September 4, 2025

Conflicts between the Syrian transitional government in Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pose challenges for the transitional government as it seeks to integrate factions. Syrian state media claimed on September 2 that the government’s internal security force had intercepted an arms shipment destined for the SDF, plus reported other recent clashes between security forces and the SDF, which the SDF has denied. Despite these tensions, negotiations between authorities in eastern Syria and Damascus continue amid US support.

Delegation from eastern Syria meets with government in Damascus

| June 6, 2025

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) sent a delegation to Damascus for the first round of talks aimed at the full integration of military and civilian institutions of the autonomous eastern Syria region into the state’s new institutions. The development comes as US forces are slowly withdrawing from the country.

Analysis: The PKK abandons armed struggle

| May 17, 2025

The PKK, the Kurdish separatist group that has waged a decades-long secessionist movement inside Turkey, recently announced its decision to lay down its weapons and likely abandon its cause. However, the conditions of the compromise the opposing sides have reached are shrouded in secrecy, and many wonder if lasting peace will be achieved. Peace between the PKK and Turkey will have regional implications spanning the stability of Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Abdi and Sharaa

Analysis: Why did Syria’s Kurds sign a deal with the new regime?

| March 11, 2025

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) signed an agreement with Syria’s interim government, integrating the SDF’s 100,000-strong, mostly Kurdish force into the new Syrian military. The deal likely represents a calculated risk by the SDF to curtail Turkish aggression, especially if the US withdraws from the country.

SDF in eastern Syria

After SDF-Damascus deal, a spotlight on US forces in Syria

| March 11, 2025

US forces in eastern Syria continue to work closely with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Free Army (SFA). However, the agreement between SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa to integrate eastern Syria into the country’s new governing institutions could affect the US role in Syria and the broader anti-Islamic State campaign.

SDF fighters training

Analysis: How will the US-backed SDF be affected by PKK leader’s disarmament call?

| March 5, 2025

On February 27, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan called for his group to disarm and end its conflict with Turkey. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in eastern Syria have welcomed this statement, which may provide an opportunity for Turkey to change its policy in Syria, affect US policy, and impact SDF relations with the new government in Damascus.

Syrian forces enter Afrin

Syrian government forces enter Afrin, signaling a change in control

| February 6, 2025

The new Syrian government in Damascus sent a convoy of vehicles from the General Security Department to Afrin, a historically Kurdish city and district in northwest Syria. In 2018, Turkey launched a military operation into Afrin and backed the Syrian National Army (SNA) to run the district. The deployment by Damascus appears to represent a significant shift after five years of rule by the SNA.

Destroyed vehicle near Tishrin Dam

The strategic Tishrin Dam has become a flashpoint in post-Assad Syria

| January 26, 2025

Clashes in Syria have increased at the Tishrin Dam, a strategic site on the Euphrates River around 30 miles south of the Turkish border controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, a collection of former Syrian rebel groups, has been seeking to take the dam since the fall of the Assad regime on December 8.

B-52 over Syria

US launches massive strikes on Islamic State as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham deposes Assad regime

| December 9, 2024

The significant US operation against the Islamic State is part of the effort to degrade the terror group and keep it from gaining ground in areas held by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the wake of the Assad regime’s collapse. The attacks may also serve as a warning to the Syrian National Army (SNA) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) not to push too hard against the SDF, America’s flawed ally in Syria.

Analysis: The perils of a Turkish-Syrian rapprochement

| July 25, 2024

Since Turkey and Syria broke off relations in 2011, Ankara has played a prominent role
in fighting Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria by supplying material support to insurgent groups seeking to overthrow Assad and maintaining forces in the opposition-held northwest. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad recently signaled they are interested in restoring diplomatic ties.

Islamic State unleashes suicide bombers in Hajin, Syria

| December 12, 2018

In the past 24 hours, the Islamic State has conducted more than one suicide bombing against US-backed forces in Hajin, Syria. One Islamic State “martyr” blew himself up near the Hajin hospital, which became the scene of intense fighting earlier this week.