Kurds vs Syrian government troops: What you need to know

"For almost 14 years of the Syrian civil war, the SDF had been in control of most of northeastern Syria. When the Syrian civil war started in 2011, the SDF took over territory there that had a Kurdish-majority population as troops then fighting for the country's brutal dictatorial regime headed by Bashar Assad withdrew from the area. The Kurds never fought the Assad regime itself but gained further terrain, including Arab-majority areas like Raqqa, as they defeated the extremist "Islamic State" group."

"In fighting the "Islamic State," the SDF were allied with US troops. The area the SDF controlled for over a decade came to be known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, or AANES. It's also often referred to as Rojava. After the Assad regime was overthrown in December 2024, the new interim government headed by members of rebel militias that ousted the dictatorship insisted all of Syria be united."

"But that was followed by a lot of debate and very little movement toward making it a reality. As a result, over the last year, there have been a number of clashes between the SDF and Syrian government forces, with the most intense taking place this past weekend. Observers say the SDF came out of the weekend worse off, as they lost around two-thirds of the territory they had controlled for over a decade."

For nearly 14 years the Syrian Democratic Forces controlled most of northeastern Syria after regime troops withdrew in 2011, expanding into Kurdish-majority and some Arab-majority areas like Raqqa while fighting and defeating the Islamic State alongside US forces. That territory became the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also called Rojava. After the Assad regime was overthrown in December 2024, the new interim government demanded reunification and integration of SDF fighters into a central army. A March 2025 agreement outlined the process but implementation stalled, leading to a year of clashes and a recent weekend in which the SDF lost about two-thirds of its territory.

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