Media: Syrian army advances in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor

Syrian government forces, backed by local Arab tribes, continue their advance into areas controlled by the SDF/PKK in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces.

Local residents are increasingly turning against the U.S.-backed armed group, Al Jazeera reports.

According to Syrian sources, tribal community members in Al-Shaddadi (Hasakah) have switched allegiance to the Syrian army. The army and its allies are crossing the Euphrates River using barges and pontoons, securing the areas as they advance. Attempts by the SDF to slow the progress by blowing up bridges have proven only a temporary measure.

Heavy clashes continue in Raqqa, where government forces and local tribes are gradually pushing the SDF/PKK out of the city center. Local residents have seized a military security branch of the terrorist group, and a church in Tabqa that was previously used as a militants’ base has served as a headquarters and a site for assembling suicide drones used in attacks on Aleppo.

The Syrian government has presented the SDF with a 12-point plan that includes, among other points, the integration of SDF fighters into the army as individuals, as well as the transfer of control over border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye.

Syrian authorities claim that the actions in the al-Jazira region resemble a popular uprising and expect the SDF to approve the proposed plan.

By Khagan Isayev