Syrians leave Aleppo countryside, fearing escalation between SDF and Syrian government

People were seen on Thursday (January 16) leaving areas held by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir Hafer in Aleppo countryside, and crossing to Syrian government held-areas, amid fears of an escalation between the Syrian government forces and the SDF.

Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday he hopes problems in neighboring Syria can be resolved peacefully but the use of force by the government in Damascus could be an option after recent clashes with Kurdish fighters.

Five days of fighting in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo last week killed at least 23 people, according to Syria's health ministry, while more than 150,000 fled the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city.

The violence in Aleppo has deepened one of the main faultlines in Syria, where President Ahmed al-Sharaa's promise to unify the country under one leadership after 14 years of war has faced resistance from Kurdish forces wary of his Islamist-led government.

Military reinforcements were spotted on Wednesday (January 14) travelling along a highway in Latakia toward eastern Aleppo, amid escalating tensions and threats from the Syrian government to launch an offensive against SDF stationed in Deir Hafer and other nearby towns.

Syrian state agency, SANA, reported on Wednesday that the Syrian army sent reinforcements from Latakia to "Deir Hafer front".

Syria's defence ministry on Tuesday (January 13) declared eastern parts of Aleppo still under SDF control to be a "closed military zone," and ordered all armed forces in the area to withdraw further east.

The last Kurdish fighters left Aleppo in the early hours of January 11, ending Kurdish control of two pockets of the city they have held since Syria's war began in 2011.

Kurdish authorities still run a semi-autonomous region in Syria's northeast and have resisted efforts to integrate them into Syria's new government, made up of former rebels who ousted longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

A March 2025 agreement to integrate Kurdish authorities into the central government has stalled. Syrian Kurdish official Ilham Ahmad said that the deal would be considered null and void if the government pursued offensives against other Kurdish-held zones.

Production: Mahmoud Hassano, Kinda Makieh/Reuters