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The Syrian service connected Tuesday (January 13, 2026) declared an country eastbound of the bluish metropolis of Aleppo a “closed subject zone,” perchance signalling different escalation betwixt authorities forces and fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Several days of clashes successful the metropolis of Aleppo past week, that displaced tens of thousands of people, came to an extremity implicit the play with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the contested neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud.
Since then, Syrian officials person accused the SDF of gathering up its forces adjacent the towns of Maskana and Deir Hafer, astir 60 km (37 mi) eastbound of Aleppo city, thing the SDF denied.
In a statement, the SDF said authorities forces person started shelling Deir Hafer, but said determination are nary reported casualties.
Damascus has yet to comment.
Eastern Aleppo state has been a tense frontline, dividing areas nether the Syrian authorities and the ample swaths of northeastern Syria nether the SDF.
SANA, the authorities quality agency, reported that the service had declared the country a closed subject portion due to the fact that of “continued mobilization” by the SDF “and due to the fact that it serves arsenic a launching constituent for Iranian termination drones that person targeted the metropolis of Aleppo.”
A drone deed the Aleppo governorate gathering connected Saturday (January 10, 2026) soon aft 2 Cabinet ministers and a section authoritative held a quality league connected the developments successful the city. The SDF denied being down the attack.
The army's connection connected Tuesday (January 13, 2026) said equipped groups should retreat to the country eastbound of the Euphrates River.
The tensions travel amid an impasse successful governmental negotiations betwixt the cardinal authorities and the SDF.
The enactment successful Damascus, nether interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, signed a woody successful March with the SDF which controls overmuch of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian service by the extremity of 2025. There person been disagreements connected however it would happen.
Some of the factions that marque up the caller Syrian army, which was formed aft the autumn of erstwhile President Bashar Assad successful a rebel violative successful December 2024, were antecedently Turkiye-backed insurgent groups that person a agelong past of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The SDF has for years been the main U.S. spouse successful Syria successful warring against the Islamic State group, but Turkiye considers the SDF a violent organisation due to the fact that of its relation with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, oregon PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency successful Turkiye. A bid process is present underway.
Despite the long-running U.S. enactment for the SDF, the Trump medication successful the U.S. has besides developed adjacent ties with al-Sharaa's authorities and has pushed the Kurds to instrumentality the March deal.
Shams TV, a broadcaster based successful Irbil — the spot of bluish Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish portion — had been acceptable to aerial an interrogation with al-Sharaa connected Monday (January 12, 2026) but aboriginal announced it had been postponed for “technical” reasons, without giving a caller day for broadcast.
