ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will withdraw its fighters from eastern Aleppo to areas east of the Euphrates, SDF’s commander said late Friday. This came after a meeting with an American delegation.
“We have decided to withdraw our forces tomorrow morning at 7 am from the current contact lines east of Aleppo - areas that have been under attack for the past two days - and redeploy them to areas east of the Euphrates,” SDF Commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi said In a post on X.
The decision came after the SDF met with a US delegation earlier on Friday. Footage obtained by Rudaw showed a convoy of US armored vehicles arriving in Deir Hafer on the outskirts of Aleppo, which was under evacuation orders as the Syrian Arab Army prepared an advance on SDF positions there.
An SDF official told Rudaw that six armored vehicles were conducting a military patrol near the town. Reuters reported the Syrian military was preparing to attack Kurdish-held positions in an effort to revive stalled power-sharing negotiations.
Abdi said the move was made “based on invitations from friendly countries and mediators, and in demonstration of our good faith in completing the merger process and our commitment to implementing the provisions of the March 10th agreement.”
Abdi signed a landmark agreement with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on March 10. The deal aims to integrate the civil and military institutions of northeast Syria (Rojava) into state structures and establish a nationwide ceasefire. The process has since stalled.
Kurds and other minorities fear that a centralized system could threaten their rights or lead to persecution.
After expelling Kurdish fighters from two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo earlier this week, Damascus expanded its operations into SDF-held areas of eastern Aleppo province, including Deir Hafer, Maskanah and surrounding districts. The areas were declared “closed military zones,” and residents were ordered to evacuate by Friday evening.
Capturing the territory would allow Syrian interim government forces to open a corridor linking Aleppo to Raqqa province, the former stronghold of the Islamic State (ISIS), and increase military pressure on the SDF along the Euphrates River.
Updated at 12:39 am on January 17.