Syrian army takes control of Deir Hafir east of Aleppo as crucial meeting held in Erbil
The Syrian army announced that it has taken control of the town of Deir Hafir, located in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, one day after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces from the area following clashes between the two sides.
On Saturday morning, the Syrian army stated in a communiqué broadcast by state television: “We announce the establishment of our full military control over the city of Deir Hafir.”
Meanwhile, a correspondent for Agence France-Presse witnessed Syrian army forces deploying inside the city.
Earlier in the day, the Syrian army announced that its forces had begun entering areas east of the city of Aleppo, following the Kurdish forces’ agreement to withdraw after clashes between the two parties.
In a statement aired on Syrian state television, it was said: “The vanguard units of the Syrian Arab Army have begun entering the region west of the Euphrates, starting with the city of Deir Hafir.”
An AFP correspondent also observed military vehicles, including tanks, heading toward the area.
The army urged civilians not to enter the region until it is “secured and cleared of mines and remnants of war.”
Erbil meeting
US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack and the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, arrived in Erbil on Saturday morning to hold a meeting, according to a source within the presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq quoted by AFP.
The source said: “Tom Barrack and Mazloum Abdi arrived in Erbil on Saturday morning.”
He added that Barrack would first meet Kurdish leader and President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, before holding a separate meeting with Mazloum Abdi. This would be followed by meetings with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, without providing further details.
After the Syrian army last week succeeded in expelling fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces from the neighborhoods of Al-Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, it requested that the SDF evacuate the area extending to the Euphrates River, about 30 kilometers to the east.
On Friday evening, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi announced that his forces would withdraw on Saturday morning from areas east of Aleppo “in response to calls from friendly countries and mediators, and as a gesture of goodwill to complete the integration process” with Syrian authorities, in accordance with an agreement signed by both sides on March 10.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense welcomed Mazloum Abdi’s decision and stated that its forces would deploy in the area following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
For months, Damascus and the Kurdish administration have exchanged accusations of obstructing the implementation of the agreement, which was supposed to be completed by the end of 2025 and provides for the integration of the Kurdish autonomous administration’s institutions into the Syrian state.
On Friday, officials from the Syrian Democratic Forces and the US-led international coalition held a meeting to discuss ways to reduce tensions between the Kurds and Syrian authorities in the Deir Hafir area, according to SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami, quoted by AFP.
Kurdish forces control large areas in northern and eastern Syria, which include the country’s main oil and gas fields.
They played a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State group and succeeded, with the support of the US-led international coalition, in expelling it from its last stronghold in Syria in 2019.
