Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces exchanged fire Tuesday in a tense area of eastern Aleppo province, marking a possible escalation after days of clashes in the northern city.
No casualties were immediately reported, as an impasse continues in negotiations between the central government representing the new authorities and the SDF over merging its thousands of fighters into the national army.
The Syrian army earlier declared an area east of Aleppo as a “closed military zone”. Eastern Aleppo province has been a tense frontline dividing areas under the Syrian government and large swaths of northeastern Syria under the SDF.
Military reinforcements are being sent by the Syrian Arab Army from Lattakia toward Deir Hafer front in eastern Aleppo countryside#Lattakia#Aleppo#Deir_Hafer pic.twitter.com/aqVAiRcjuc
— SANA English (@SANAEnOfficial) January 14, 2026
In a statement, the SDF said government forces have started shelling Deir Hafer district. The group later said government troops launched exploding drones, artillery and rockets to a village south of Deir Hafer.
Syrian state television later said the SDF targeted the village of Homeima on the other side of the Deir Hafer frontline with exploding drones.
Several days of deadly clashes in Aleppo last week displaced tens of thousands of people. They ended over the weekend with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the contested neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud. Aleppo Governor Azzam Ghareeb said Damascus now has full control of Sheikh Maqsud and Achrafieh, where clashes took place.
Syrian officials have accused the SDF of building up its forces near the towns of Maskana and Deir Hafer, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Aleppo city. SANA, the state news agency, reported that the army had declared the area a closed military zone because of “continued mobilization” by the SDF, and accused the group of using the area as a launchpad for drone attacks in Aleppo city.
The army statement said the armed groups should withdraw east of the Euphrates River.