The Syrian government sent military reinforcements to eastern Aleppo countryside and Raqqa in northeast Syria on Sunday. According to informed sources, the Syrian Defense Ministry dispatched large military reinforcements to the Al-Tishrin Dam area and Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo countryside, and other reinforcements arrived in the Al-Zamla area in southern Raqqa countryside from the 60th and 76th divisions affiliated with the Defense Ministry. The reinforcements came after repeated attacks on Defense Ministry forces by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A source explained that the repeated attacks and the SDF’s breach of the March 10 agreement and the outcomes of the Hasakah conference indicate that the SDF is not seeking a political solution, making military action the only option to liberate eastern Syria. Hundreds of vehicles, some military, passed through the city of Manbij heading to Al-Tishrin Dam southeast of Manbij.

Large numbers of forces moved via the Aleppo-Raqqa road towards Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo controlled by the SDF. Sheikh Faraj Al-Hammoud Al-Salama, a leader of the Al-Bushaban tribe, stated that liberating eastern Syria has become necessary due to violations committed by the SDF against Arab tribes in northeast Syria. He warned repeatedly that the SDF would not hand over eastern Syria despite the suffering of the local people under this group. He confirmed that all Arab tribes in eastern Syria are hostages of the SDF and are fully ready to expel PKK elements from Syria after their true intentions appeared following the Hasakah conference, which aims to impose a fait accompli and begin dividing Syria, a move rejected by all Arab tribes east of the Euphrates and throughout Syria.

The Syrian government announced on Saturday the cancellation of a scheduled meeting in Paris between the government delegation and the SDF following the Hasakah conference, signaling the failure of negotiations and the resort to military action coordinated between Syria and Turkey. The recent visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Damascus may accelerate the launch of a military operation against the SDF, which Turkey seeks.