"Factions affiliated with the Damascus government attacked the vicinity of Tishreen Dam twice using suicide drones and artillery shelling, coinciding with rocket strikes on the village of ’Umm al-Marra’ south of Deir Hafer, amid ongoing military escalation in the area," said the SDF in a statement.
It also reported more attacks by the army in Deir Hafer earlier in the day.
The Syrian Arab Army declared several SDF-held areas in Aleppo, including Deir Hafer, as "closed military zones" before launching attacks on the force.
The army’s Operations Command attributed the move to what it said was the "continued mobilization by the SDF, together with the terrorist [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK militias and remnants of the former [Ba’ath] regime," as well as claims that the area has become "a launch point for Iranian suicide drones that shelled the city of Aleppo."
The state-run al-Ikhbariyah cited a military source as confirming the attacks on the SDF-held areas.
The unnamed source said the Jihadist-led army "targeted positions of the SDF in the vicinity of the city of Deir Hafer with artillery shells, in response to the latter targeting the surroundings of the village of Humaima with drones."
The SDF has repeatedly warned that Damascus plans more attacks on them, blaming regional allies of the Islamist-led government for encouraging the army to carry out such actions.
In recent days, Damascus had reiterated claims that it "detected the arrival of additional gangs at positions held by the SDF" near Deir Hafer and Maskanah, alleging that the reinforcements include fighters from the PKK as well as members of the deposed Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...regime.
The SDF on Monday dismissed reports that it is expanding its presence in eastern Aleppo as "misleading," describing them as "an attempt to manufacture tension and create pretexts for escalation."
The exchange of accusations comes against the backdrop of deadly violence that struck Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood last week.
At least 82 people were killed, including 43 civilians, according to a Sunday report by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Approximately 150,000 others were displaced, the Erbil-based Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) told Rudaw on Saturday.
| The Times of Israel adds: |
“It’s no secret that Israel was the only country in the world that intervened militarily and saved us from a genocide as it was happening,” Hijri told Ynet. He called the current Syrian government “ISIS-esque” and “a direct successor of al-Qaeda.”
“We see ourselves as an inseparable part of Israel’s system of existence, as an arm that has forged an alliance with Israel. The ties are international and significant,” he said, adding that Israel could act as a “guarantor” for “future arrangements” and the “appropriate power” to oversee a transition to Druze self-rule in Syria, which Hijri hopes will be a stepping-stone to full independence.
I suspect full independence for the Syrian Druze is more ambitious than Israel would be able to support, even if they end up replacing Iran as regional hegemon.
Related:
Aleppo: 2026-01-13 Analysis: A Narrowing Window for the SDF in Northern and Eastern Syria
Aleppo: 2026-01-13 Multiple Syrian government websites were hacked and defaced in a coordinated cyberattack targeting official ministry servers
Aleppo: 2026-01-12 Syrian gov. urged to take immediate military action in Deir Hafir and rescue Syrian civilians from shelling
Aleppo: 2026-01-13 Analysis: A Narrowing Window for the SDF in Northern and Eastern Syria
Aleppo: 2026-01-13 Multiple Syrian government websites were hacked and defaced in a coordinated cyberattack targeting official ministry servers
Aleppo: 2026-01-12 Syrian gov. urged to take immediate military action in Deir Hafir and rescue Syrian civilians from shelling