Tensions escalate in Syria: Damascus seizes Tabqa town; locals welcome Syrian troops

Government forces on Sunday seized Tabqa, a strategic town in eastern Syria, advancing into territory held by the Kurdish-led SDF. The move comes after months of tension. According to Syrian state media, Kurdish fighters blew up a bridge to slow the advance.Damascus accused the SDF of executing prisoners before withdrawing, a charge the SDF denied, saying detainees were relocated and that government forces had fired at the prison. Video shared by SDF channels showed armed men in civilian clothes seizing ammunition inside the facility, with no bodies visible.Tabqa’s capture is strategically important due to its dam, which controls water flow deeper into SDF-held areas, and its air base.

It is the latest Arab-majority area in Raqqa province to fall to Damascus, raising questions over how far government troops intend to push toward Kurdish-populated zones.This follows deadly clashes in Aleppo earlier this month that killed at least 23 and displaced tens of thousands. The flare-up came amid disputes over a March agreement meant to reintegrate the northeast under the state. After the clashes stopped, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said forces would withdraw east of the Euphrates following President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s announcement of measures to bolster Kurdish rights.

In response to the Aleppo fighting, Syria’s defence ministry designated parts of eastern Aleppo a closed military zone along a sensitive frontline. The United States, which has built strong ties with the new Damascus government since Assad’s ouster in December 2024, urged calm and has tried to mediate between the two sides.Further east in Deir el-Zour, the governor warned residents to stay indoors amid reports of Arab tribal clashes with the SDF near key oil and gas fields hosting US troops.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces have since taken more than a dozen villages as SDF units withdrew.The SDF, dominated by Kurdish fighters, controls much of northeast Syria and was Washington’s main partner against ISIS. Kurdish groups seek autonomy while Damascus seeks full territorial reintegration. Arab-Kurd tensions, US involvement, and ISIS remnants continue to shape the conflict’s northeast front.