Syria Sends Troops Into Occupied City

Syrian government forces entered the city of Raqqa on Sunday in its ongoing push in areas held by Kurdish-led forces in eastern Syria. The military push into the city deep into eastern Syria after tensions between Damascus and the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces flared up earlier this month, leading to deadly clashes and the government taking control of three Aleppo neighborhoods from Kurdish fighters. Large military convoys have swept into the city and were greeted by residents, the AP reports. It appeared that the SDF had withdrawn. The SDF earlier said its forces prevented attacks by the Islamic State group in some neighborhoods in the city.

• Another city falls: Earlier, the military seized Tabqa in the province of Raqqa, which is viewed as critical because of a dam that controls the southward flow of the Euphrates River and is home to a military airbase. The government also took control of oil fields in the province. The SDF took Tabqa from IS in 2017 as part of its military campaign to take down the group's so-called Caliphate, which at its peak stretched across large parts of Syria and Iraq. At the peak of its control, IS declared Raqqa its capital.
• US talks: American envoy Tom Barrack met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus. The US efforts to calm both sides, their key allies in Syria, have so far been unsuccessful. The US had urged calm after this month's Aleppo clashes left at least 23 dead and tens of thousands displaced. After the fighting halted, Abdi said Friday that the group would withdraw its forces from the area to the east of the Euphrates following al-Sharaa's announcement on measures adopted to strengthen Kurdish rights in Syria.

• The backdrop: Since leading an insurgency to oust longtime President Bashar Assad in December 2024, al-Sharaa has struggled to assert full control across the country and appeal to minorities skeptical of Syria's Islamist-led rule. The government and the SDF have traded accusations of violating an agreement in March that would reintegrate northeastern Syria and Kurdish-led forces with the government. The SDF has controlled large swaths of northeastern Syria for years, including its oil fields, and has been a US ally in combating the Islamic State group.
• Accusations: The Syrian government said SDF forces killed prisoners in Tabqa before withdrawing from the area. The SDF denied the allegations, saying the detainees had been transferred out of the prison, and accused government forces of firing at the facility. It shared a video showing armed men in civilian clothing in the prison seizing munitions left there, with the person filming yelling: "We liberated Tabqa prison!"