Overview
- The military said it retook 34 towns and villages and entered Deir Hafer, supervising the departure of more than 200 Kurdish-led SDF fighters.
- SDF chief Mazloum Abdi announced a pullback to the east of the Euphrates at mediators’ request and traveled to Erbil for talks with U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.
- A U.S.-led coalition delegation met Kurdish officials in Deir Hafer to reduce tensions, as diplomats worked to prevent further escalation.
- Authorities reported more than 4,000 civilians fled the evacuation zone; Damascus accused the SDF of blocking departures, a claim the SDF denied.
- President Ahmad al-Chareh issued a decree making Kurdish an official language, permitting its teaching and recognizing Nowruz as a holiday, alongside citizenship restoration for stateless Kurds, which analysts say does not address power-sharing.