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The battle between the forces of the Islamist-led Syrian Transitional Government (STG) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued in northern and eastern Syria on January 20, with the first advancing in the governorate of al-Haskah and the latter repelling attacks in the governorate of Aleppo.
Government forces reached the southern outskirts of the city of al-Haskah overnight, although a large section of the governorate’s southern countryside remains under the control of the Kurds, who declared mobilization.
The group amassed thousands of fighters between the city, and the towns of Tell Tamer and Qamishli in the northern countryside.
Separately, the STG began an offensive in the eastern countryside of al-Haskah, with its forces advancing towards the town of al-Hawl, where a large fenced refugee camp with over 25,000 people, most of whom are relatives of ISIS members, is located.
According to Reuters, the government is currently negotiating with the United States-led coalition to take over the refugee camp.
Al-Hawl itself is not, however, the only goal on the offensive in the eastern al-Hasakah countryside. The government is likely planning to take over the entire region to close the border with Iraq, specifically with the autonomous region of Kurdistan, which witnessed protests overnight in support of the SDF, with thousands of Kurds gathering near the border to enter Syria and join the ranks of the group.
In Raqqa, the situation is under the complete control of the STG. SDF fighters are still holding up in a single point, al-Aqttan Prison.
Fighting around the prison, which is located in the northeastern outskirts of the city of Raqqa, ceased overnight. Talks to hand over the facility, which hosts ISIS detainees, are reportedly underway.
A military source also informed the state-run SANA news agency that the Ministry of Interior is in “constant communication” with fighters holding up in the prison to “secure all the required needs.” The SDF said, however, that water was cut off from the facility.
In Aleppo, specifically the eastern countryside of the governorate, fierce clashes were reported overnight with the SDF reporting two failed attacks by STG forces near the town of Kobani.
“On the Abu Sarra front, our forces launched a precise strike against one of those factions’ columns, forcing it to retreat and flee,” the SDF said in a statement.
“Another attempted advance was also repelled on the Khan Mamed village axis, southeast of Kobani, where the enemy suffered heavy losses that thwarted its plan and forced it to withdraw,” the group continued.
“Our forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Women’s Protection Units, affirm their complete readiness to confront any aggression and will continue to defend our people and our land with unwavering resolve,” it added.
The group later reported two additional attacks by government forces near the Qere Qozaq bridge on the Euphrates River and the town of Jalabiya. It also said that a Turkish drone strike hit the area close to the bridge.
The recent escalation marked the collapse of the U.S.-brokered merger agreement signed by Syrian President Ahamad al-Sharaa and SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi on January 18.
The 14-point agreement stated that the Arab-majority governorates of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor should be completely handed over to the STG.
As for Al-Hasakah and Kobani, where most of the population are Kurds, the agreement was vague. It just says that areas there should be integrated into government structures, without clarifying the future of the SDFs’ civil self-administration in any way.
A meeting between Sharaa and Abdi in Damascus on January 19 failed, with SDF officials later revealing that the president demanded the complete surrender of the group. U.S. President Donald Trump also called Sharaa, with Al-Monitor reporting that he asked him not to attack al-Hasakah. The report is, however, questionable as STG forces are clearly still advancing in the governorate.
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who knows what the deal is with all of them that have been warring for centuries. they just don’t like one another..
que se matem, os curdos são traidores, atacaram o irã recentemente com os protestos, morram todos os curdos malditos.
donald trump is a biblical beast.
the betrayal of the kurds may be an eye-opener for voters in republican states.
22 republicans and 13 democrats will have to defend their senate seats.
i hope that trump’s betrayal of the kurds will keep republicans at home.