\n<\/p>\n
Syrian troops fighting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria have seized the country’s largest oilfield.<\/p>\n
The Omar facility and nearby gas fields are under army control after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pulled back, officials and monitors say. Earlier the army captured the strategic Tabqa dam on the Euphrates river.<\/p>\n
The push came after the SDF announced it would redeploy east of the Euphrates, following deadly clashes last week. That withdrawal followed talks with US officials.<\/p>\n
Ongoing fighting in the area stems from the breakdown of an agreement between SDF and the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is seeking to integrate Kurdish bodies into Syrian institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On Friday, in an apparent good-will gesture, al-Sharaa said he would make Kurdish a national language and make the Kurdish new year an official holiday. The decree is the first formal recognition of Kurdish national rights since Syria’s independence in 1946.<\/p>\n
The US-backed SDF then announced its pullout east of the Euphrates river. <\/p>\n
Kurdish forces have been controlling swathes of Syria’s oil-rich north and north-east, much of it gained during the fight against the Islamic State group over the past decade.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Syrian troops continued their eastward push. They entered the town of Tabqa on the south-western bank of the Euphrates and nearby dam on Saturday.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Syrian officials announced they had seized Omar, Syria’s largest oil field, on the eastern side of the river. The facility has been a major source of revenue for the SDF.<\/p>\n
This claim was supported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group. It said the SDF had withdrawn from “entire villages and towns of the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor [province]” as well as the Omar and Tanak oil fields early on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Syrian authorities accused the SDF of blowing up two bridges on the Euphrates River, including the new al-Rashid bridge in the city of Raqqa.<\/p>\n
Last week at least 12 people were reported killed in clashes between the two sides in the northern city of Aleppo.<\/p>\n
The latest fighting comes despite attempts by the US to broker a ceasefire. Washington has long backed the SDF, but it also supports the Syrian government.<\/p>\n
Following the ousting of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, President al-Sharaa has been seeking to integrate Kurdish military and civilian bodies into Syria’s national institutions.<\/p>\n
In March 2025, the SDF signed a deal with the government to that effect. Almost a year on, the agreement is still not implemented, with each side blaming the other.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n