Syrian government forces take Al-Omar oilfield as Kurds withdraw
Al-Omar was home to the largest US base in Syria. It had been controlled by Kurdish-led forces since 2017 after Islamic State group was pushed out
Kurdish-led forces withdrew on Sunday from Syria’s largest oilfield, a conflict monitor said, as government troops extended their grip over swathes of territory in the country’s north and east.
The push came after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree granting the Kurds official recognition in an apparent goodwill gesture, even as his Islamist government seeks to assert its authority across Syria after the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
The Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration, which controls large parts of the northeast, has said the announcement fell short, while the implementation of a deal to integrate Kurdish forces into the state has been stalled for months.
Early on Sunday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) suddenly withdrew “from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oilfields”, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Agence France-Presse.
He said the SDF withdrawal in Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces came as “fighters from local tribes, including Arab fighters who are part of the SDF, advanced in coordination with government troops.”
The areas are now effectively controlled by government forces, the Observatory said.