Syria is undergoing the next phase of its rapid transformation since the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, raising new questions about the country’s future and the U.S. role in it. In this context, the last major vestiges of its presence in Syria—namely, a few military bases and its local partner, the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF)—appear to be on their way out. The evolving situation raises valid concerns regarding Syria’s future stability as U.S. officials attempt to wash their hands of their long-running involvement, even as Washington would be wise to end its military presence in the country.
Syria’s new developments stem from hostilities between the central government in Damascus, led by President Ahmed al-Shara, and the SDF, formerly based in northeast Syria and some parts of Aleppo Governorate. In early January, fighting broke out in Aleppo City’s Kurdish majority neighborhoods of Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsood in the city’s north, resulting in the withdrawal of the last remnants of the SDF in the city, local security forces known as the Asayish.
The fighting did not end, however, as the Syrian Army engaged the final SDF elements west of the Euphrates River in Aleppo Governorate’s Deir Hafir, forcing their withdrawal across the river. Increasingly, it appeared as if Damascus was preparing for a larger assault on northeast Syria, testing the limits of military action that the SDF’s primary backer—the United States—had blocked until recently.
With little apparent pushback from Washington, Damascus moved across the river, quickly utilizing long-planned Arab-community insurgencies via tribes that had long worked with the SDF against the group. As of this writing, a shaky ceasefire deal that addresses most of Damascus’s demands in unification talks remains on the table, and Washington is pushing to see it implemented.
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