DAMASCUS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Syrian government troops thrust deeper into areas held by Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria on Tuesday, Syrian military sources said, pressing rapid gains against Kurdish fighters who vowed to defend their remaining enclaves.
Government forces have this week taken swathes of northern and eastern Syria long held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), once the main U.S. ally in Syria, advancing President Ahmed al-Sharaa's effort to bring all the country under
centralised authority.
The swift reversal for the SDF along one of Syria's main faultlines marks the biggest shift in territorial control in Syria since Islamist fighters led by Sharaa toppled President Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
Amid reported clashes, three Syrian sources said the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State was negotiating for the government to take over an SDF-guarded camp housing thousands of civilians linked to the jihadist group near the town of al-Hol, close to the Iraqi border. The Syrian military said it was advancing on al-Hol.
The U.S. military's Central Command did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
One of the sources, a Syrian official, said talks were focused on a smooth transition to avoid any security risks or detainees fleeing.
GOVERNMENT PRESSES ADVANCE
The SDF had established control of a quarter or more of Syria during the 2011-2024 civil war, while fighting with the support of U.S. troops against Islamic State.
The Syrian military sources said government troops had advanced on Tuesday in eastern areas of Hasakah province - where al-Hol is located - and south of the town of Kobani, also known as Ain al-Arab, which lies on the border with Turkey.
A spokesperson for the Syrian Kurdish YPG, the dominant component of the SDF, said "enemy forces were trying to advance" near al-Hol camp but Kurdish forces were maintaining a defensive line in the area. The spokesperson did not respond to a question about the advances reported near Kobani.
The SDF said it had inflicted heavy losses on government forces trying to advance on the village of Tel Baroud in Hasakah. Neither side announced overall casualty figures.
Earlier on Tuesday, the SDF reported four attacks at dawn by "Damascus factions" in areas near Kobani, saying the attacks had been repelled. "Our forces ... confirm their complete readiness to confront any aggression," the SDF said in a statement.
KURDS VOW TO DEFEND THEMSELVES
Tensions between the SDF and Damascus spilled into open conflict this month, including in Aleppo, after months of deadlock over the fate of the SDF's fighters and territory, with the Kurdish force resisting government demands that it fully dissolve into the defence ministry.
After days of fighting, the SDF said on Sunday it would withdraw its forces from the Arab-majority provinces of Raqqa and Deir al-Zor. On Monday, government forces pushed into the SDF-controlled Hasakah province, saying they had seized control of one of several jails holding Islamic State prisoners.
Reports indicated that SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Sharaa held a rocky meeting on Monday, after Abdi's signature appeared on a 14-point agreement with the government.
YPG spokesperson Farhad Shami said claims of an agreement being reached were "lies".
"I believe that when Mazloum Abdi went to Damascus, he knew that this government would try again to force our people to surrender," Shami said in an interview with Kurdish broadcaster Rudaw on Monday evening.
"We have decided that we will defend ourselves even if we are alone," he said.
The United States, which has since established close ties with Sharaa under President Donald Trump, has been closely involved in mediation between the sides.
The government and the SDF have traded blame over the escape of Islamic State prisoners from a prison in the town of Shaddadi on Monday, with each accusing the other of releasing them.
The Syrian Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that about 120 Islamic State detainees escaped, 81 of whom had been recaptured. The Syrian government has said that it is now in control of the prison in Shaddadi.
The SDF has previously said it was guarding some 10,000 IS fighters.
(Reporting by Mahmoud Hassano, Khalil Ashawi, Suleiman al-Khalidi, Orhan Qereman, Jaidaa Taha, Menna Alaa ElDin, Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Gregorio, Aidan Lewis)
