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Military convoy rolls down Aleppo–Raqqa highway after Syrian govt declares SDF-controlled towns ‘closed military zone’

Military convoy rolls down Aleppo–Raqqa highway after Syrian govt declares SDF-controlled towns ‘closed military zone’

"Footage filmed on Wednesday shows a convoy of military vehicles travelling along the Aleppo–Raqqa highway in Aleppo province. This came amid reports of an imminent military operation targeting Deir Hafer and Maskanah west of the Euphrates River, towns controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Syrian media reported on Wednesday that the army had sent military reinforcements from Latakia province to the front east of Aleppo, without providing further details. The SDF media centre said that government forces had shelled the Deir Hafer post office using artillery and suicide drones, adding that three of its members were injured after a Turkish Bayraktar drone struck a military position in the village of al-Bu Assi in the Tabqa countryside. Internal security forces in the al-Safira area of the Aleppo countryside announced on Wednesday that the road leading to Maskanah and al-Mazra’a al-Sadisa would be closed until further notice, citing security reasons and to ensure civilian safety. On Tuesday, Syria’s Ministry of Defence had declared the towns of Maskanah and Deir Hafer a ‘closed military zone’, calling on armed groups in the area to withdraw east of the Euphrates River. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the village of Qashla in the Aleppo countryside has been repeatedly targeted with drones and heavy weapons by government forces. No information on casualties was available at the time of publication. These developments followed six days of clashes between government forces and the SDF in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo, which ended with the withdrawal of the Kurdish ‘Asayish’ internal security forces to northeastern Syria. On Sunday, the SDF commander announced that international mediation had enabled an end to the fighting in Aleppo, including a ceasefire and the evacuation of the dead and wounded. On March 10, Syrian transitional leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement to integrate all civil and military institutions affiliated with the Kurdish self-administration into the framework of the Syrian state by the end of 2025. However, the agreement had not been implemented at the time of publication, and sporadic clashes between the two sides have continued. "