Syrian army takes over area east of Aleppo after Kurds agree to withdraw

Syria's army said it took control of the town of Deir Hafer outside Aleppo city on Saturday, a day after Kurdish forces agreed to withdraw from the area following recent clashes.

In a statement to state television, the army said it had established “full military control” of Deir Hafer, while an AFP correspondent on the ground saw troops deploying inside the town.

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However, the SDF said the Syrian Army entered the cities of Maskanah and Deir Hafer before the withdrawal of their fighters, alleging that the government forces did not abide by the terms of the agreement.

It called on the countries sponsoring the agreement to intervene urgently to ensure compliance with its provisions.

Following the taking of the two towns, Syria’s army ‍announced that ‍it had seized the oil fields of Sufyan and ⁠Thawrah in northern Syria, where Kurdish fighters have been withdrawing from dozens of towns and ‍villages under an ‍agreement meant to ‍avoid ⁠a ‌bloody showdown.

Kurdish forces ⁠still ‍control some of Syria’s ⁠largest oil fields in the ‌Deir el-Zor province further east. Syria’s government says those ‍fields must be managed by central authorities.

After driving out Kurdish forces from Aleppo city last week following deadly clashes, Syria’s army deployed reinforcements near Deir Hafer and told the SDF to evacuate the area between the town and the Euphrates River, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) further east.

On Friday, Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi committed to withdrawing his US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday morning “towards redeployment in areas east of the Euphrates”, based on “calls from friendly countries and mediators.”

The defense ministry had welcomed Abdi’s announcement, saying army troops would deploy in the areas after the SDF withdrew.

The Syrian army had urged civilians to flee the Deir Hafer area in recent day, with at least 4,000 people leaving according to Syrian authorities.

On Friday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a “national language,” in an apparent gesture of good will towards the minority after the recent violence.

Syria’s government is seeking to extend its authority across the country following the ousting of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

Progress on implementing a March deal to integrate the Kurds’ autonomous administration in the north into the state has stalled.

But al-Sharaa’s announcement on Friday is the first formal recognition of Kurdish national rights since Syria’s independence in 1946.

The decree stated Kurds were “an essential and integral part” of Syria, where they have suffered decades of marginalization and oppression under former rulers.

It makes Kurdish a “national language” that can be taught in public schools in areas where the minority community is heavily present.

Kurdish forces control swathes of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast, much of which they captured during the country’s civil war and the fight against the ISIS over the past decade.

With AFP

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