DEIR HAFER: The leader of Kurdish-led forces in Syria announced on Friday that they will withdraw from a contested area in northern Syria, potentially heading off a major clash with government forces. The announcement by Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, came as the Syrian military announced it had begun striking SDF positions, while the SDF reported "intense artillery shelling" in the town of Deir Hafer east of the city of Aleppo. Hours earlier, a US military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions. The SDF closed the main highway but more than 11,000 people were still able to reach government-held areas on other roads, Syrian state TV reported. Kortay Khalil, an SDF official at the Deir Hafer the checkpoint, said they had closed it because the government closed other crossings.

Source: Indian Express January 17, 2026 05:33 UTC