Syrian government forces, supported by Arab militias and tribal fighters, took control of parts of Aleppo, Raqqa, and Deir Ezzor, and advanced into Hasakah province, long under semi-autonomous Kurdish administration.
The offensive gave Damascus control of major oil and gas fields—including al-Omar, al-Tanak, and Conoco—as well as two hydroelectric dams on the Euphrates, according to the Syrian Energy Ministry. The seizure of these resources undercuts the SDF’s funding and administrative capacity.
President Ahmed Al-Sharaa said the advances placed most of Deir Ezzor province, Syria’s main oil- and wheat-producing area along the Euphrates, under state control.
He said it was unacceptable for a militia to control a quarter of the country and its primary resources. Government forces also captured the northern city of Tabqa and its dam, along with the Freedom Dam west of Raqqa.
Following these gains, Al-Sharaa announced a truce with the SDF on Sunday. Under the agreement, the government assumes control of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, all oil and gas fields, and international borders. Civilian institutions in Hasakah will be integrated into the state, with local governance overseen by a government-appointed governor.
Border towns such as Ain al-Arab (Kobane) will retain limited local security under the Interior Ministry, and SDF fighters will be individually vetted before joining Syria’s defense and interior ministries, according to The New Arab.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the agreement in a video address on Sunday, saying Kurdish units would withdraw from Raqqa and Deir Ezzor to Hasakah “to stop this war.” He is scheduled to visit Damascus on Monday to discuss implementation. Despite the ceasefire, clashes were reported on Monday near a prison in Raqqa holding Islamic State detainees and in Ain Issa and al-Shaddadi.
The wider offensive
The campaign followed a partial deal with the SDF in Aleppo. Government forces pushed east to expel Kurdish units from the western bank of the Euphrates. Arab tribal fighters in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa rose against Kurdish rule, citing discrimination and heavy-handed governance.
The US-led coalition against Islamic State largely remained on the sidelines, while US envoy Tom Barrack met SDF and Iraqi Kurdish leaders in Erbil on Saturday in a last-ditch effort to stabilize the situation.
Al-Sharaa also issued a presidential decree guaranteeing Kurdish cultural rights. The ceasefire effectively ends the SDF’s autonomous armed role, returning oil and gas revenues to Damascus while allocating a portion to local authorities in Hasakah.
Deir Ezzor and Raqqa fall under direct government control, and non-Syrian PKK members will be expelled. Türkiye welcomed the agreement as a “historic turning point,” viewing it as a strategic victory that curtails Kurdish autonomy near its border.
Iraqi Kurds and regional diplomacy
Iraqi Kurds, numbering around 6–7 million, are concentrated in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, which has its own government, parliament, and security forces.
Before the Syrian advances, Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani held a summit in Erbil on Saturday with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, US envoy Tom Barrack, and the president of the Kurdish National Council of Syria (ENKS). Barzani called for an immediate halt to the fighting and urged a return to prior agreements, welcoming the Syrian decree on Kurdish rights as a positive step but stressing it should form part of a broader constitutional settlement.
Türkiye and the PKK
Kurds make up roughly a fifth of Türkiye's population, mainly in the southeast. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) launched an insurgency in 1984 seeking autonomy under jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan, leaving tens of thousands dead and spilling periodically into Iraq and Syria.
In May 2025, the PKK formally renounced armed struggle against Türkiye after more than four decades. Öcalan said on Sunday that he “sees this situation [in Syria] as an attempt to sabotage the peace process” and reaffirmed his commitment to peace and democratic governance. The PKK warned the fighting in Syria could “call into question” its ceasefire with Ankara.
Türkiye's pro-Kurdish Democratic Party of the Peoples (DEM) criticized Ankara’s support for the Syrian offensive, warning that the clashes threatened regional stability.
Syria’s Kurds
Syria’s Kurds, about 9 percent of the population, gained autonomy after the 2011 uprising weakened state control. The SDF emerged as the main Kurdish actor, forming local councils and security forces under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), dominated by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG). With US backing, the SDF captured Raqqa and most of eastern Syria, including major oil fields.
Türkiye regards the YPG and SDF as PKK affiliates and conducted three incursions into northern Syria between 2016 and 2019. Pressures from Ankara and shifting US priorities forced intermittent talks between the AANES and Damascus, which repeatedly stalled.
Implications
For Syrian Kurds, the agreement likely ends de facto autonomy, replacing it with individual rights and representation under a re-centralized state.
Whether AANES institutions endure and the SDF retains any collective identity within the army will determine if this is genuine power-sharing or a managed rollback.
Even without statehood, Kurds in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq remain a decisive regional force.
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