Syrian Government Expands Control In Kurdish Al-Hasakah As Deal With SDF Collapses (Videos)

Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)

The forces of the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) on January 19 consolidated their control over one of the largest towns in the southern al-Haskaah countryside, and began advancing in the northern countryside of the Kurdish-majority governorate amid reports suggesting that the merger agreement reached with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has collapsed.

The state-run SANA news agency, citing a military source, confirmed that government forces took over the town of al-Shaddadi, and released footage from the town.

Earlier, the SDF said that its fighters lost control of a prison near the town with thousands of ISIS detainees. The STG accused the group of releasing the detainees and said that it directed its forces to secure the prison and recapture anyone who escaped. However, the group released videos confirming that it was government forces that let the detainees out.

Al-Shaddadi is some 45 kilometers away from the city of al-Hasakah. According to preliminary reports, STG forces have already begun advancing from the town towards the city.

In the northern countryside of the governorate, government forces also began advancing, mainly towards the town of Tell Tamer. Clashes were reported close to the town, along the M4 highway.

The SDF also reported Turkish drone strikes on Mount Abdulaziz in the western countryside of al-Hasakah, although a Turkish security source told Reuters that no such strikes were carried out by the country.

Meanwhile in the governorate of Raqqa, the situation also escalated with STG forces renewing their attack on al-Aqttan Prison, which also hosts ISIS detainees.

The SDF refused to withdraw from the prison, which is located in the northeastern outskirts of the city of Raqqa. The group later said that government forces shelled the facility with artillery and tanks, and even attempted to storm it in the third such attack during the day.

In the governorate of Aleppo, the intensity of the clashes around the SDF’s pocket in the vicinity of the town of Kobani in the eastern countryside also increased. An attack by STG forces was repelled close the nearby town of Sarrin, according to the group.

The ongoing attacks by STG forces go directly against the merger agreement between Syrian President Ahamad al-Sharaa and SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signed a day earlier after mediation by the United States.

The 14-point agreement states that 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 is 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.

Amid this escalation, a meeting between Sharaa and Abdi was held in Damascus. According to several reports, the meeting failed because Sharaa demanded the full surrender of the SDF, which Abdi rejected. The commander has since left the Syrian capital and the group has announced mass mobilization.

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MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

• Syrian Government Forces Attack To Free ISIS Detainees In Raqqa Day After Deal With Kurds (Videos)
• Kurdish Forces Say Al-Hasakah Prison With ‘Thousands’ Of ISIS Detainees Is Out Of Control (Videos)