The clashes, which erupted in the strategically important town of Deir Hafer, quickly spread to surrounding areas, with both sides trading accusations over who initiated the hostilities. The violence represents a dangerous deterioration in relations between the two forces, which have maintained an uneasy coexistence in northern Syria.
According to the SDF, the confrontation began when a Syrian government drone targeted one of its military positions in Deir Hafer during the afternoon hours. The Kurdish-led forces claimed they suffered no casualties from the initial strike but responded with what they described as "precise strikes" on government positions, forcing attackers to retreat.
However, an Enab Baladi correspondent on the ground provided a conflicting account, reporting that SDF units initiated the hostilities by shelling Syrian army positions with artillery fire. The correspondent stated that government forces responded with artillery and rocket launchers, but notably disputed the SDF's claim about drone usage in the initial exchange.
The violence quickly spread beyond Deir Hafer, with both sides exchanging rocket and artillery fire along the fronts of al-Khafseh and al-Kiyariyeh villages. The escalation was reportedly triggered when several SDF fighters infiltrated al-Khafseh before withdrawing, prompting renewed clashes. Syrian state media SANA also reported that the SDF shelled the vicinity of Tel Maaz village with mortars, drawing retaliatory artillery fire from army units stationed there.
Most tragically, the SDF Media Center reported a massacre in the village of Um Tina in Deir Hafer countryside, where drone attacks followed by intense artillery shelling at 7 p.m. directly targeted civilian homes. Seven civilians were killed, including 75-year-old Amina Mohammed Al-Azzawi, a four-year-old child named Hamza Obaid Al-Razzaq, and a one-year-old infant, Abdul Ghani Rahman Al-Obeid. Four others sustained injuries in what the SDF condemned as a "heinous crime" against unarmed civilians.
The SDF statement emphasized their forces' "full preparedness to repel any attack," warning that their response would always be "decisive" against those attempting to target their positions and fighters.
Saturday's violence follows a pattern of escalating tensions in eastern Syria. On September 14, similar clashes erupted in the east of Deir Ezzor when the SDF allegedly fired on a river ferry, killing a civilian and sparking confrontations with Syrian army forces and local tribal fighters. That incident resulted in the capture of several SDF members and prompted the deployment of 15 armored vehicles by the Kurdish-led forces.