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The army has made significant territorial gains after intense battles with the SDF.<\/p>\n
It all started in Aleppo, and now the fighting has expanded to the northeastern parts of Syria.<\/p>\n
The army says it has made major advances there, seizing areas previously under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n This rapid sequence of events paves the way for the government to tighten its grip on this strategic and oil-rich region.<\/p>\n Many rounds of talks and agreements between Damascus and the SDF leadership over the last year have yielded no results.<\/p>\n That is despite involvement from the US in efforts to bring the two sides to common ground.<\/p>\n How will this play out within Syria and the wider region?<\/p>\n Presenter:<\/strong> James Bays<\/p>\n Guests:<\/strong><\/p>\n Omar Abu Layla \u2013 Syrian Affairs analyst<\/p>\n Scott Lucas \u2013 Professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin<\/p>\n Kamaran Palani \u2013 Kurdish principal investigator for the PeaceRep Iraq programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published On 18 Jan 2026<\/span>18 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n