Syrian government forces enter northern towns after Kurdish fighters withdraw

DEIR HAFER, Syria (AP) — Syrian government forces entered two northern towns Saturday morning after the command of Kurdish-led fighters said it would evacuate the area in an apparent move to avoid conflict.

Two soldiers were killed and others wounded in a clash as they entered the town of Maskana, state media reported. Meanwhile, troops made their way into the town of Deir Hafer. The two towns changed hands after deadly fighting erupted earlier this month between government troops and the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest. It ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from three neighborhoods taken over by government forces.

An Associated Press reporter on Saturday saw government tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles, including pickup trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on top, entering Deir Hafer after bulldozers removed barriers. There was no SDF presence on the edge of the town.

The Syrian military said its forces were in full control of Deir Hafer, captured the Jarrah air base to the east, and were in the process of clearing mines and explosives. It added that troops would move toward the nearby town of Maskana, where an AP reporter saw a military convoy rolling in hours later.

“Our happiness is beyond expression. It is the happiness of liberation,” said Hussein Mustafa as he welcomed troops entering Deir Hafer. He blasted the SDF, saying now residents of the town can celebrate that government forces are in charge at last.

Another resident, Mohammed al-Jaber, said: “The Syrian Arab Army came here and liberated us from this terrorist organization.”

The SDF for years has been the main U.S. partner in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State group, but Ankara considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with Kurdish separatist insurgents in Turkey. Some of the factions that now make up the Syrian army were formerly Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The SDF said in a statement that, according to an agreement, Syrian forces were supposed to enter Deir Hafer and Maskana after the Kurdish-led force ended their withdrawal. “Damascus violated the terms of the agreement and entered the towns before our fighters had fully withdrawn, creating a highly dangerous situation with potentially serious repercussions,” the SDF said.

State news agency SANA reported that SDF fighters “violated the agreement" by targeting an army patrol near Maskana, leaving two soldiers dead and others wounded. SANA added that government forces kept moving east, reaching two villages in the northern province of Raqqa.

Over the past two days, more than 11,000 people fled Deir Hafer and Maskana using side roads to reach government-controlled areas, after the government announced an offensive to take the towns.

On Friday night, after government forces started pounding SDF positions in Deir Hafer, the Kurdish-led fighters’ top commander Mazloum Abdi posted on X that his group would withdraw from contested areas in northern Syria. Abdi said SDF fighters would relocate east of the Euphrates River starting 7 a.m. (0400 gmt) Saturday.

The easing of tension came after U.S. military officials visited Deir Hafer on Friday and held talks with SDF officials in the area. The United States has good relations with both sides and has urged calm.

Abdi was scheduled to hold talks with U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Saturday.

In Irbil, an official with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, said that KDP officials had asked the SDF to withdraw from parts of northern Syria, but the Kurdish force in Syria rejected. According to the official, KDP leader Masoud Barzani communicated with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who requested that Barzani act as a mediator — an initiative Abdi also accepted.

The official says Barzani's initiative led to the expected meeting between Abdi and Barrack in Irbil, in which they will discuss the developments and work toward an arrangement to keep SDF forces east of the Euphrates and prevent a return to fighting. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The SDF’s decision to withdraw from Deir Hafer was made after Syria’s interim president al-Sharaa issued a decree Friday boosting the rights of the country’s Kurds, who made up about 10% of Syria’s population of 23 million before the conflict began in 2011. Over the past decades, Syria’s Kurds had been marginalized and deprived of their cultural rights under the rule of the Baath Party that ran Syria for six decades until Bashar Assad’s fall in December 2024.

Al-Sharaa’s decree recognized Kurdish as a national language, along with Arabic, and adopted the Newroz festival, a traditional celebration of spring and renewal marked by Kurds around the region, as an official holiday.

The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria said Saturday that the rights of Kurds should not be protected by “temporary decrees” but by mentioning them in the country's constitution. It added that a decree “does not form a real guarantee for rights of Syria's ethnic groups.”

Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report from Baghdad.

A convoy of Syrian government forces drive on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government soldiers carry machine guns as they ride motorcycles on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government soldiers drive a vehicle with heavy machine gun mounted on top on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A convoy of Syrian government forces drives on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government soldiers carry machine guns as they ride motorcycles on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Marco Odermatt already has no equals on the World Cup skiing circuit.

Now the Swiss star is set to claim the record in the biggest event on home snow, too.

Odermatt led a shortened race Saturday to set up his fourth career downhill victory in Wengen – breaking a tie for the most downhill victories on the famed Lauberhorn course with Franz Klammer and Beat Feuz.

Austrian standout Klammer claimed his three Wengen downhill wins in the 1970s while Feuz, another Swiss skier, claimed his third victory in 2020.

What’s more is that Odermatt’s four wins would come in succession.

Odermatt finished a massive 0.79 seconds ahead of Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and 0.90 ahead of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who claimed his first caeer victory in Friday's super-G.

Lower-ranked skiers were still coming down the course.

Strong winds prompted organizers to drastically shorten the course — making the narrow and tactical “Kernen S” section the key to the race. Odermatt mastered the section perfectly and carried away a faster speed on the exit than anyone else.

Franjo von Allmen and Alexis Money, two other Swiss skiers, stood fourth and fifth, respectively.

Von Allmen, the world champion in downhill last season, took a riskier approach and skied into a television camera lining the course inside the “S” section. Then he crashed in the finish area — although appeared unhurt.

Dominik Paris of Italy was sixth after registering the top speed at 151.57 kph (94 kph).

It’s the first of the two weekends at the circuit’s classic venues, with Kitzbuehel, Austria, up next. Then the focus will switch to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy — with the men to ski in Bormio.

Odermatt won gold in giant slalom at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and will be favored to win multiple medals at the upcoming Games.

Overall, it was set to be Odermatt’s 52nd World Cup victory, moving him within two wins of matching Hermann Maier for third place on the all-time men’s list. He's also got a massive lead in the standings as he chases a fifth consecutive overall World Cup title.

Odermatt immediately knew he had done something special again, screaming with delight in the finish area and waving to the crowd, which was made up almost entirely of fans waving Swiss flags.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen crashes at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Spectators gather to follow an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts in the finish area during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts in the finish area during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)