US push to de-escalate Syrian-SDF tensions as government forces prepare assault

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said on Friday that efforts to de-escalate tensions between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were ongoing, amid military buildups on the Deir Hafer front in eastern Aleppo, and the army warned civilians to leave the area ahead of a possible assault. 

In a post on social media platform X, Barrack said the US remained in close contact with all parties in Syria in an effort to reduce tensions and revive integration talks between Damascus and the SDF- referring to the 10 March 2025 agreement and ongoing attempts to reactivate it. 

Barrack reiterated in his latest comments that the US "remains in close contact with all parties in Syria, working around the clock to lower the temperature". 

The United States has long backed Kurdish forces in Syria, while also supporting the country’s new government, after the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. 

The latest fighting has prompted the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, to urge all sides to "avoid actions that could further escalate tensions", amid fears the fighting could strengthen the Islamic State group.

Barrack’s remarks came as the Syrian government announced on Thursday that it was preparing an imminent military operation targeting Kurdish-dominated militias in the Deir Hafer and Maskana areas of eastern Aleppo province - a corridor of SDF-held land west of the Euphrates River.

The SDF had previously advanced into these areas following the fall of the Assad regime. 

According to The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site al-Araby al-Jadeed, citing a source in Deir Hafer, Syrian government forces have carried out shelling targeting specific locations in the area.  

The source said this coincided with SDF fighters preventing civilians from leaving through a humanitarian corridor announced by the government, which aimed to allow residents of Deir Hafer and Maskana to travel towards Aleppo city. 

The Syrian army said it would "take a number of measures to eliminate any threat to the security of the region and its citizens". 

Civilians have been fleeing the area since Thursday via back roads- with the source telling al-Araby al-Jadeed that residents were using agricultural and dirt tracks to reach areas under government control before heading to shelters in the city of Manbij. 

An army statement said civilians had until 5pm on Friday (2pm GMT) to leave.  

In a statement issued on Friday, Kurdish forces said the army had shelled Deir Hafer overnight "to put pressure on residents and force them to leave".  

They added that similar tactics had been used in Aleppo last week, when civilians were told to evacuate before Kurdish-held districts were shelled. 

Syrian government forces regained full control of Aleppo City over the weekend after seizing the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh and evacuating fighters to Kurdish-held areas in the north-east of the country. 

Both sides have accused each other of triggering last week’s violence, which, according to a monitoring group, left dozens of people dead. 

The Syrian government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, reached an agreement in March to integrate a Kurdish de facto autonomous administration in the north into the Syrian state, but progress on implementing the deal has since stalled. 

On Thursday, Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish official within the Autonomous Administration, said claims by the Syrian government that the agreement had not been implemented were "incorrect", adding that "the international community is aware of this". 

Ahmed also said recent statements by Syrian leader al-Sharaa were being interpreted as a declaration of war. 

However, al-Sharaa renewed calls for Syria’s Kurds to integrate into the state, saying that "protecting the Kurdish population requires integration into the new reality, as the Syrian state represents a significant asset for them". 

He also accused Washington of "clearly and explicitly" supporting Syria’s territorial unity and giving the country an opportunity to rebuild, while claiming the SDF was "going against these currents" and acting against the wishes of the country's Kurdish minority.