Syria Preparing 50,000 Troops To Retake Raqqa, Deir Ezzor From SDF: Report

August 17, 2025 TheMcgwire

Syria Preparing 50,000 Troops To Retake Raqqa, Deir Ezzor From SDF: Report

The Kurdish-led SDF has refused Damascus’ demand to incorporate into the new extremist-led Syrian army and state

The Syrian military is planning a major offensive to capture two Arab-majority governorates in northeast Syria now occupied by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), The National reported on 17 August.

Security sources speaking with the UAE-based paper said if the US-backed SDF does not hand over most of its territory, the Syrian government will assemble a force of 50,000 and launch an attack to capture the governorates of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor sometime before October.

The SDF began conquering territory in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in 2015 with the backing of the US military. The US had previously supported ISIS in Syria and Iraq in an effort to divide both countries, then pivoted to partner with Kurdish forces to fight against ISIS.

At the US’s urging, the SDF captured large swathes of northeast Syria, including most of Syria’s major oil fields, ensuring Washington and Tel Aviv would maintain leverage against the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The US, Israel, and Turkiye successfully toppled Assad in December, installing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former ISIS commander, in his place.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ The Cradle

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