By Mahmoud Hasano and Khalil Ashawi
TABQA, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Syrian government troops are entering the outskirts of Raqqa and advancing deeper into the country’s northeast, the last bastion of the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led autonomous administration, government officials and security sources said on Sunday.
Two Syrian military sources said tanks had begun entering Raqqa, once controlled by Islamic State, which the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured in October 2017.
Thousands of residents took to the streets of Raqqa to celebrate Syrian army advances as SDF forces pulled out their equipment, two residents said.
The army with its Arab tribal allies had earlier seized control of the main oil and gas fields in Deir al-Zor east of the Euphrates river – a “key source of income for the Kurdish-led forces – dealing a major blow to the group.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said last week that it was unacceptable for a militia (Syrian Democratic Forces) to control a quarter of the country and own its main oil and commodity resources.
US Representative Tom Barrack, who met with Kurdish leaders in Erbil in northern Iraq, was holding talks with Sharaa in Damascus about the latest developments as Washington called on the two sides to de-escalate, government officials said.
Washington is caught between preventing the collapse of the autonomous enclave of its Kurdish partners – which played a central role in the defeat of Islamic State in Syria – and supporting Sharaa’s bid to consolidate control over the rest of the country.
Sharaa has vowed to prevent the division of Syria along sectarian and ethnic lines, while Kurdish leaders say they do not seek secession but want a decentralized state.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had spoken to Sharaa to express his concerns about the ongoing government offensive against Western-backed Kurdish-led forces.
Macron, whose country has been part of mediation efforts between Damascus and the Kurds, said on Saturday that the offensive must stop.
Sipan Hamo, head of the People’s Protection Units, the main Kurdish forces within the SDF, told Reuters the US should take stronger action to end the offensive.
He said that given the Kurds’ “concerns about the changes that are taking place,” the U.S. should provide them with assurances of protection.
“Our biggest hope is that there will be a tangible result, especially from the coalition and the United States, which means that they will intervene more strongly in the existing problems than what they are currently doing,” Hamo said.
Syrian government troops seize oil and wheat producing areas
The Syrian army continued to advance into predominantly Arab areas of northeastern Syria controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), despite US calls to halt its advance.
A government source said Kurdish-led forces had been outflanked by advances led by Arab tribal fighters, allowing the government and its tribal allies to move into territory along the east bank of the Euphrates from Baghouz, near the Iraqi border, to key towns including al-Shuhail and Busayra.
Syrian government officials said the advances had effectively brought most of Deir al-Zor province — the country’s main oil and wheat-producing area along the Euphrates — under control.
Late on Saturday, the army also took control of the northern city of Tabqa and its adjacent dam, as well as the Freedom Dam, formerly known as the Baath Dam, west of Raqqa.
Syrian Kurdish authorities, which have not acknowledged the loss of those strategic sites, said fighting continued near the dam area, accusing Damascus of violating an agreement to withdraw forces from areas east of Aleppo to expand its offensive.
Syrian Kurdish officials said government-aligned factions were attacking their forces, despite efforts to reach a peaceful outcome. The civilian administration that runs the region said Damascus was intent on sowing division between Arabs and Kurds.
“We are at a critical moment. We either resist or live in dignity and face all kinds of injustice,” their statement said, urging residents of Arab-majority areas to support the SDF.
“We appeal to our people, especially the youth, to take up arms and prepare to resist any attack. We are facing a war for our survival,” he added.
The government has called on SDF fighters – most of whom are from Arab tribes – to defect. Hundreds were said to have already switched camps and joined tribal forces fighting the SDF.
The government’s rapid advances have been aided by thousands of Arab tribal fighters taking up arms against the SDF, reflecting years of resentment over forced conscription and the marginalization of their oil-rich areas.
The SDF denies it favors Kurds in governing bodies, saying its leadership ranks reflect the diversity of Syrian society.
(Reporting by the Damascus team; Writing by Suleiman al Khalidi Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Jane Merriman)