Syrian forces on Sunday captured the al-Omar oil field, the country’s largest, as fighting intensified between the army and the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Defense Forces (SDF).
In its latest push, the Syrian army has seized large swathes of territory in the country’s north, pushing the SDF out of territory over which Kurdish forces have had autonomy for more than a decade.
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Here are the latest updates from Syria
– The withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the al-Omar oil field was reported by Reuters on Sunday, while Al Jazeera reported that the SDF had also withdrawn from the al-Tanak oil field in the eastern countryside of Deir Az Zor.
– The Conoco gas field was also taken over by government forces in the Deir Az Zor area.
– Meanwhile, fighting is raging across the country, with the Syrian news agency SANA reporting the destruction of two bridges on the Euphrates River leading to the city of Raqqa, which is under siege by the army.
– Tabqah, a fortress town about 55 kilometers west of Raqqa, also fell to the Syrian army, with Information Minister Hamza Almustafa saying: “The Syrian army controls the strategic town of Tabqa in Raqqa countryside, including the Euphrates Dam, which is the largest dam in Syria.”
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– With Raqqa under siege, al-Jazeera reported that the Syrian army’s rapid advance has also led to the SDF losing key areas of Raqqa governorate.
– The Syrian army is said to be using a pincer strategy, moving east and south of SDF lines and trying to push Kurdish-led forces further and further north towards the border with Turkey.
– With Kurdish-led forces rapidly losing ground, the president of Iraq’s autonomous northern Kurdish region spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, who in turn called for a de-escalation in Syria and a “permanent ceasefire”.
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What is happening in Syria?
After the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced his desire to integrate Kurdish bodies, both military and civilian, into Syrian institutions, and in March 2025 the SDF signed an agreement with the government to this end.
However, despite the agreement, the deal has still not been concluded and both sides are accusing each other of not fulfilling their promises.
Deadly clashes erupted in Syria last week between SDF militias and government forces, with the US urging both sides to avoid confrontation.
Subsequently, al-Sharaa issued a decree on Friday, marking the first formal recognition of Kurdish rights in Syria since the country’s independence in 1946.
The decree made Kurdish the national language and granted citizenship to all Kurds within Syria’s borders, who made up approximately 10% of the country’s population in 2011.
The decree, hailed by Kurdish authorities as a “first step” to integrate Kurds into Syrian institutions, prompted the SDF to announce a withdrawal from certain parts of the country’s north.
However, fighting broke out after the SDF accused Damascus of violating recent agreements and entering SDF territory before the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.