Syrian army in offensive against Kurdish strongholds

TT

Updated 20.00 | Published 19.24

The Syrian army takes the city of Deir Hafer after Kurdish forces retreat. Photo: Omar Albam /AP/TT

The Syrian military has taken control of areas in the northern part of the country in an offensive aimed at Kurdish strongholds.

Kurdish forces are retreating from places they have controlled for over a decade.

The US is urging Syria to "cease" the offensive.

The escalation around the city of Aleppo has spread to the Raqqa region on the Euphrates River. Damascus threatened on Saturday to bomb areas where Kurdish forces are located.

The Kurdish forces have received support from the US in the fight against, among others, the terrorist movement IS. The US military command center Centcom (United States Central Command), responsible for developments in the Middle East and Central Asia, urged the Syrian government to suspend the offensive “between Aleppo and al-Tabqa”.
Continuing offensive

However, Damascus chose not to heed the call. Late on Saturday, the Syrian military announced that it had captured the city of al-Tabqa in Rapa province.

“The Syrian military has begun to capture the city of Tabqa from several directions, while the (Kurdish terrorist movement) PKK terrorist militia at the Tabqa military airport has been surrounded,” the military announced via the state news agency Sana.

In addition, two oil fields in Raqqa have been captured by government forces, according to Damascus.

Thus, the interim government, led by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, is stepping up the fighting against the Kurdish groups in the country, which has been severely damaged by previous civil wars.

Official language

Kurdish forces announced late on Friday that they were withdrawing from areas near Aleppo and Deir Hafer after threats of attacks were issued by the government. The information has been confirmed by independent journalists on the ground.

Parts of the Kurdish forces have been included in the joint force called SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), where Syrian and Arab forces have also been involved in battles against the Islamist terrorist movement IS during the civil war in Syria.

While the offensive is underway in northern Syria, interim president al-Sharaa announced that Kurdish will be considered one of Syria's official languages.