Syrian troops advance into Kurdish-held north, threatening Raqqa area

Syrian government troops advanced into Kurdish-held territory in the north on Saturday, seizing key towns and sparking clashes that threatened to unravel a political agreement intended to reunify the country. The escalation follows intense fighting earlier this month between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces, or S.D.F., a Kurdish-led militia backed by the United States, and raised the prospect of a government push toward Raqqa, the largest city administered by Kurdish authorities.

Raqqa was seized by the Islamic State in 2014, was heavily damaged during the U.S.-backed campaign against the group and has since remained under S.D.F. control with a small American military presence. The S.D.F. said it withdrew from several positions east of Aleppo after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree affirming the rights of Kurdish Syrians; that withdrawal was widely seen as an attempt to ease tensions after government forces struck S.D.F.

positions. The situation deteriorated on Saturday as each side accused the other of violating the terms of the agreement. U.S. military leaders and diplomats pressed for restraint: Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, urged Syrian government forces to "cease any offensive actions" in areas near Aleppo, and the U.S.

special envoy to Syria, Thomas J. Barrack Jr., met in northern Iraq with the S.D.F.

Key Topics

World, Syrian Government, Syrian Democratic Forces, Raqqa, Aleppo, Tabqa