Clashes erupted Tuesday in the Deir Hafer district of Aleppo province between Syrian government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), potentially escalating conflict in northern Syria. This follows days of deadly clashes in Aleppo's Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud and Achrafieh neighborhoods, which concluded with the evacuation of SDF fighters and Damascus asserting full control. The Syrian army declared the area east of Aleppo a "closed military zone" due to alleged SDF mobilization and drone attacks. Negotiations for the SDF's merger into the national army, agreed upon in March 2025, are stalled over implementation details, leading to frustration from the SDF and the autonomous administration in northeastern Syria towards Washington and Damascus.