Syrian army declares SDF-controlled areas east of Aleppo closed military zone

The Syrian army announced on Tuesday that a large area of eastern Aleppo countryside in northern Syria, stretching between Deir Hafir and Maskanah, has been designated a closed military zone.

The move follows an escalation in activity by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and remnants of the former Assad regime.

The announcement was accompanied by a map showing the designated area in red.

The army said the zone had been used as a launch point for Iranian suicide drones, which have targeted the city of Aleppo in recent weeks.

The army's operations directorate urged civilians living near the area to stay away from SDF positions, warning of the dangers of remaining close to armed faction deployment points amid the possibility of military operations.

It also called on all armed groups inside the declared zone to withdraw east of the Euphrates River, stressing that the army "will take all necessary measures" to prevent the area from being used as a base for further attacks.

The area covered by the warning lies in one of the most sensitive parts of eastern Aleppo countryside. It extends from the outskirts of Deir Hafir through Qawas and Babiri to Maskanah on the western shore of Lake Assad, and forms a key geographical node close to contact lines between the Syrian army and the SDF.

On Monday, the Syrian news agency SANA quoted the army's operations directorate as saying it had monitored "the arrival of additional armed groups to SDF deployment points in eastern Aleppo countryside, near Maskanah and Deir Hafir".

"According to our intelligence sources, these new reinforcements included fighters from the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party and remnants of the fallen regime," it added.

The directorate said it would "study and assess the field situation directly and immediately", warning that "the SDF's bringing in terrorist groups is a dangerous escalation, and any military movement by these groups will be met with a violent response. We will not stand idly by in the face of this dangerous escalation".

SANA also cited a military source as saying that "new Syrian army reinforcements have arrived at deployment points in Deir Hafir and Maskanah in eastern Aleppo countryside, following the SDF's transfer of terrorist groups from the Kurdistan Workers' Party and remnants of the fallen regime to the same axis".

On the weekend, Syria's government took full control of Aleppo city after taking over its Kurdish neighbourhoods and evacuating fighters there to Kurdish-controlled areas in the country's northeast following days of clashes.

Syria's defence ministry said SDF forces were mobilising in Deir Hafir. However, the SDF media centre denied "misleading claims published by the defence ministry affiliated with the Damascus government regarding the presence of movements or military build-ups by our forces on the Deir Hafir front".

It said there were no unusual movements or preparations, explaining that "the gatherings that took place were limited to civilians from northern and eastern Syria welcoming the wounded from Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh".

The latest bout of violence started last Tuesday after negotiations stalled on integrating the Kurds' de facto autonomous administration and forces into the country's new government.

The SDF controls swathes of the country's oil-rich north and northeast, much of which they captured during Syria's civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group.