The government’s move to assert control over areas under Kurdish rule is a major test for President Ahmed al-Sharaa as fresh clashes erupted.
New tensions flared a day after a Kurdish-led militia agreed to hand over control of prisons holding some 8,000 Islamic State fighters to the Syrian government.
The new deal also calls for a cease-fire. Government forces have taken strategic assets from the militia in recent days, weakening the force.
Government troops drew closer to Raqqa, the largest city overseen by the Kurds, raising U.S. concerns about the renewal of a wider conflict in the region.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s announcement on Friday came after days of fighting between the government and Kurdish forces. On Saturday, those forces began withdrawing from a flashpoint east of Aleppo.
The takeover ended one of the worst outbreaks of violence between the central government and the Kurdish-led forces since the end of the civil war just over a year ago.
Fighting in the city of Aleppo resumed as talks to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the national military appear to have stalled.
After more than a decade of wars, from Syria to Gaza, the Middle East is exhausted by conflict. Is it ready to find another way?
The attack further complicates President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to unify the country and rebuild relationships with the international community, analysts say.
Critics say Syria’s fledgling government is hobbling military preparedness as it redoes the country’s forces from scratch.