Syrian troops clash with Kurdish forces after dispute over withdrawal deal

DEIR HAFER, (Syria): Syrian troops swept through towns in the country’s north on Saturday after an agreed withdrawal by Kurdish fighters there, but clashes erupted when the army kept up its advance deeper into Kurdish-held territory.

For days, Syrian troops had amassed around a cluster of villages that lie just west of the winding Euphrates River and had called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces stationed there to redeploy their forces on the opposite bank of the river.

Overnight, SDF head Mazloum Abdi said his forces would withdraw early on Saturday morning as a gesture of goodwill, leaving the river as a frontline between Syrian government troops to its west and Kurdish forces to its east.

But clashes broke out in some towns and oil fields on Saturday as the SDF and Syria’s army accused each other of violating the agreement, with Kurdish authorities saying Syrian troops were pushing into towns not included in the withdrawal deal.

Syrian troops moved relatively smoothly into the main town of Deir Hafer and surrounding villages whose residents are predominantly Arab, according to statements from the military.

Some residents had left in recent days through a humanitarian corridor set up by Syria’s army but those who stayed celebrated the army’s arrival.

“It happened with the least amount of losses. There’s been enough blood in this country, Syria.