Syrian army and Kurdish-led SDF clash after talks falter

Fighting breaks out near Euphrates after failed US-brokered meeting in Damascus

Syrian Democratic Forces and government troops clash in Manbij, north-east Syria. AFP

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces fired rockets overnight at Syrian army positions near the Euphrates and tried to infiltrate the area, the Damascus authorities said on Sunday, in the first clashes since US-sponsored talks between the two sides faltered last month.

The Syrian government and the US-backed SDF have blamed each other for starting the hostilities. Tension escalated after President Ahmad Al Shara and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi failed to meet under US auspices in July. The discussions were aimed at bringing the SDF under national army control and initiating a peaceful government takeover of areas under Kurdish control.

The official Syrian news agency said four soldiers and three civilians had been wounded in Manbij, north-eastern Syria. The army has “repulsed an infiltration attempt” by the SDF, after a rocket had been fired into the area, it said.

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The Syrian army said it was dealing with the attack. The SDF said that after pro-government troops had started the fighting by shelling residential areas, its own troops used their “legitimate right to respond”. It accused the government of “seeking escalation” by moving soldiers to the front lines.

Solving the Kurdish issue is a key to stability, especially after waves of sectarian tension in the Alawite and Druze areas of Syria over recent months.

Extending government control to the east of the Euphrates, which is mostly under the control of the SDF, has been a main goal of the government since the removal of Bashar Al Assad in December. Thomas Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, supports this quest and criticised the SDF for not thinking in nation-building terms.

The SDF's position as Washington's main ally in Syria has been undermined after the US began establishing ties with Mr Al Shara's government in May, shifting its priority to stability in the country. In June, the US began lifting sanctions on Syria and revoked the terrorist designation from HTS.

However, the SDF has resisted, demanding a federal system and keeping the forces as a unit in any new Syrian army formations while preserving its organisational structure. But Damascus has opposed this.

An official in the SDF, who requested anonymity, said despite Mr Barrack’s criticism, the SDF retains strong support in US security circles, especially for countering ISIS, a role the Damascus authorities would struggle to fill. The government is controlled by HTS, a splinter group formerly linked to Al Qaeda and lead by Mr Al Shara.

The official highlighted a recent government military campaign in the mostly Druze province of Sweida as “hurting Al Shara’s counterterrorism credentials” in Washington.

This year, the Pentagon allocated $130 million for groups in Syria with which it has linked up in counter-ISIS operations, mainly the SDF, in its 2026 budget.

US backing for the SDF has prevented Mr Al Shara from consolidating his control over the entire country since the downfall of the former regime in December.

A March 10 agreement between Mr Al Shara and Mr Abdi ran into problems after the SDF convened a conference of Kurdish political groups in April that demanded Syria be governed under a federal system.