SDF Reports Seven Injured in New Attacks by Damascus-Linked Militants

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that seven individuals were injured in a series of fresh attacks carried out by militants affiliated with the Damascus government, as tensions continue to mount across northeast Syria (Western Kurdistan). The latest assaults come just two weeks after the Deir Hafer massacre, which killed eight civilians, including children and women, in indiscriminate bombardments of residential areas.

In a statement issued by the SDF Media Center, the force said that “militants of the Damascus government continue to escalate their assaults and violations in the regions of northern and eastern Syria, targeting our fighters and innocent civilians in an attempt to destabilize the security and stability of the area.”

According to the statement, a suicide drone launched by pro-government militants early Sunday morning struck a military vehicle near Deir Hafer, wounding three SDF fighters. Later that evening, another armed drone attacked a patrol of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) as it was performing its duty to protect civilians, resulting in injuries among four of its members. The SDF said that residential neighborhoods in the surrounding areas simultaneously came under random artillery fire, posing a direct threat to civilian lives and spreading fear among the population.

The SDF described these repeated strikes as “clear efforts by the Damascus government’s militants to create chaos and destabilize northern and eastern Syria, in a deliberate attempt to undermine the state of safety and order experienced by the people of the region.”

The statement recalled the September 20 massacre in Deir Hafer, where eight civilians, including five women and two children, were killed when Syrian government forces indiscriminately shelled residential homes. “These attacks demonstrate the regime’s ongoing attempts to destabilize the region and obstruct the peace and stability our people have built,” the SDF said.

New Violations by Damascus Government Militants Following the September Massacre in Deir Hafer

Statement to the Public

The militants of the Damascus government continue to escalate their assaults and violations in the regions of northern and eastern Syria, targeting our…

— Syrian Democratic Forces (@SDF_Syria) October 5, 2025

Just a day earlier, on October 4, the SDF had reported that its units repelled three consecutive assaults by Syrian government-linked groups attempting to breach its defensive lines near the village of Resim al-Kirom in Deir Hafer’s rural outskirts. The assaults, backed by drones and heavy artillery, failed to make any progress, according to the SDF.

“Our forces were fully prepared and thwarted all the enemy’s attempts,” an SDF source said at the time, warning that “the situation in Deir Hafer remains extremely tense, with civilian lives increasingly endangered by the Syrian army’s indiscriminate attacks.”

Following the failed incursions, the SDF redeployed armored vehicles, artillery units, and additional fighters from Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah to reinforce its positions in Deir Hafer. The Syrian government, in turn, sealed off the main Deir Hafer–Aleppo highway, blocking civilian and logistical movement for nearly a week.

The escalation coincides with the collapse of a planned dialogue between the SDF and the Syrian government that had been scheduled to take place in Damascus under U.S. mediation. Sources close to the SDF told Al-Arabiya al-Hadath that the government “refused to meet with SDF officials,” effectively derailing efforts to de-escalate tensions through political means.

Meanwhile, the Syrian army intensified restrictions in Aleppo city, closing off major access points to the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh. Bulldozers and heavy machinery were deployed to erect new earth barriers, cutting routes linking these districts to other parts of the city, including the roads from Ashrafiyeh Park to Sheihan Roundabout and the crucial Gundul Roundabout. The Lairamon checkpoint was also shut down, isolating residents and restricting the movement of essential goods, including food and fuel.

The SDF accused government-affiliated factions of targeting civilian infrastructure, including the Tishreen Dam and nearby villages south of Kobani, using tank and field artillery fire. “Shells have directly struck the body of the dam, workers’ housing, and nearby villages, posing a severe threat to civilian lives and vital facilities,” the SDF said, calling the attacks “grave violations of ceasefire agreements.”

In response to the siege and bombardments, the General Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh convened a public assembly at Zaytoun Roundabout in Ashrafiyeh. The multilingual statement—read in Kurdish by Co-Deputy Chair Dunya Bakr, in Arabic by Co-Chair Hevin Suleiman, and in English by Manan Jaafar, Co-Chair of the Yazidi House—condemned the renewed hostilities and called on the Syrian Interim Government to uphold its commitments and hold accountable the armed factions violating the April 1 agreement.

“After decades of oppression, injustice, and crimes committed by the regime, we aspired to build a homeland where love and peace prevail,” the statement said. “Yet today, violations by groups aligned with the Interim Government bring us back to those same provocations.”

The Council reaffirmed its full support for the SDF, describing it as “a national necessity and the only inclusive military force protecting Syria’s unity.” It added that the SDF “defends all communities—Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, and Syriacs—and has fought ISIS on behalf of the world, shedding the blood of its martyrs to preserve Syria’s integrity.”

The statement rejected claims by the Interim Government that the SDF does not represent the people of North and East Syria, calling such rhetoric “baseless attempts to incite sectarianism under external influence.” Arab tribes, it said, have reaffirmed their solidarity with the SDF, recognizing it as “the sole guarantor of Syria’s unity.”

The Council further denounced government-linked factions for cutting supply routes, blocking fuel deliveries ahead of winter, and directing armored vehicles toward civilian zones, describing such acts as reminiscent of “the Baath regime’s oppressive tactics.”

Residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh echoed the Council’s stance, expressing “unwavering support for the SDF,” which they credited for defending “Syria’s identity, resisting division, and safeguarding women’s rights and social justice.”

Concluding its October 5 statement, the SDF Media Center reaffirmed the group’s commitment to defending its territories and protecting civilians from ongoing aggression. “The Syrian Democratic Forces will continue their duty to protect our people and confront all attempts to undermine the security and stability of the region,” the statement said.

As clashes intensify across the northern frontlines and pro-government forces persist in their violations, the SDF has maintained that it remains fully prepared to respond to any further escalation. With fragile political talks collapsing and the humanitarian toll rising, the situation in Deir Hafer, Aleppo, and the wider north risks devolving into yet another prolonged cycle of violence and instability in war-torn Syria.