Damascus moves against the Kurds
The new Syrian government turns on the force that fought the Islamic State.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 14 days
- Known to
- ± 12 hours
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
- Where
- Raqqa, Syria · 35.9594° N, 39.0136° E
Syrian government forces began operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces on 6 January 2026 and had taken most Kurdish-held territory by 20 January. The SDF had been the West's principal partner against ISIS and held prisons containing thousands of its fighters. It was the first major test of whether the government that replaced Assad would rule by consent or by force.