DEIR HAFER, SYRIA
\nSyria\u2019s army has seized swathes of the country\u2019s north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade.
\nThe government appeared to be extending its grip on Kurdish-run areas after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a \u201cnational language\u201d and granting the minority group official recognition.
\nThe Kurds have said Friday\u2019s announcement fell short of their aspirations, while the implementation of a March deal \u2014 intended to see Kurdish forces integrated into the state \u2014 has stalled.
\nGovernment troops drove Kurdish forces from two Aleppo neighbourhoods last week and on Saturday took control of an area east of the city.
\nOn Sunday, the government announced the capture of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) west of Raqa. \u201cThe Syrian army controls the strategic city of Tabqa in the Raqqa countryside, including the Euphrates Dam, which is the largest dam in Syria,\u201d said Information Minister Hamza Almustafa, according to the official SANA news agency.
\nThe Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), however, said they had \u201ctaken the necessary measures to restore security and stability\u201d in Tabqa.
\nIn Deir Hafer, some 50 kilometres east of Aleppo city, an media correspondent saw several SDF fighters leaving the town and residents returning under heavy army presence.Syria\u2019s army said four soldiers had been killed, while Kurdish forces reported several fighters dead. Both sides traded blame for violating a withdrawal deal.
\nKurdish authorities ordered a curfew in the Raqa region after the army designated a swathe of territory southwest of the Euphrates River a \u201cclosed military zone\u201d, warning it would target what it said were several military sites.
\nThe SANA news agency reported Sunday that the SDF destroyed two bridges over the Euphrates in Raqa city, which lies on the eastern bank of the river. Raqa\u2019s media directorate separately accused the SDF of cutting off Raqa city\u2019s water supply by blowing up the main water pipes.
\nDeir Ezzor governor Ghassan Alsayed Ahmed said on social media that the SDF fired \u201crocket projectiles\u201d at neighbourhoods in government-controlled territories in the city centre of Deir Ezzor, Al-Mayadin, and other areas.
\nThe SDF said \u201cfactions affiliated with the Damascus government attacked our forces\u2019 positions\u201d and caused clashes in several towns on the east bank of the Euphrates, opposite Al-Mayadin and which lie between Deir Ezzor and the Iraqi border.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DEIR HAFER, SYRIA Syria\u2019s army has seized swathes of the country\u2019s north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade. The government appeared to be extending its grip on Kurdish-run areas after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a \u201cnational language\u201d and granting the minority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-526405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n