The army has made significant territorial gains after intense battles with the SDF.
It all started in Aleppo, and now the fighting has expanded to the northeastern parts of Syria.
The army says it has made major advances there, seizing areas previously under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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This rapid sequence of events paves the way for the government to tighten its grip on this strategic and oil-rich region.
Many rounds of talks and agreements between Damascus and the SDF leadership over the last year have yielded no results.
That is despite involvement from the US in efforts to bring the two sides to common ground.
How will this play out within Syria and the wider region?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Omar Abu Layla – Syrian Affairs analyst
Scott Lucas – Professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin
Kamaran Palani – Kurdish principal investigator for the PeaceRep Iraq programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Published On 18 Jan 2026
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