The battle for deir hafir gate in Aleppo

Footage released by the new Syrian Government shows an attack against a critical checkpoint on the outskirts and entry point to Deir Hafer, which is a town in the eastern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate of Syria, approximately 50 km east of Aleppo city. The checkpoint lies near strategic routes connecting Aleppo to Raqqa and other northeastern areas under SDF control, making it a critical point of control for SDF troops in the region. Syrian Army operations targeted multiple sites, numbered 1-4 on published maps of the area, identifying them as SDF/PKK bases used for launches toward Aleppo. SDF/PKK annotations are a blanket term used by Syrian and Turkish sources for the YPG, which is why you see so much American equipment at the positions. The equipment was provided by the United States during clashes with the Islamic State in the late 2010s. On January 13, the Syrian Ministry of Defence declared Deir Hafer and nearby Maskanah as closed military zones, accusing the SDF of regrouping, deploying Iranian-made drones to attack civilians in Aleppo, and destroying three bridges linking areas east of the city. The SDF denied these claims and any deployment to the front. On January 16th, reports of intense shelling on SDF positions in Deir Hafer, starting around 19:00. Syrian Army announced a "response" against SDF bases, publishing maps of targeted sites used for alleged drone launches and operations toward Aleppo. The SDF described the city as under heavy artillery fire from Damascus factions. On January 17 the footage above was filmed, and the Syrian Army advanced, taking control of Deir Hafer after SDF withdrawal, amid clashes in several towns east of Aleppo. The SDF reported attacks by government-affiliated factions on their positions, leading to confrontations. The footage above reportedly shows Syrian soldiers attacking the YPG at the Deir Hafir Gate route, marking the initial engagement that escalated to broader fighting. What you'll notice about this footage is that it was edited by and in the same fashion as common Islamic Extremist propaganda that was released throughout the Syrian Civil War. If you're at all familiar with the Islamic State's style of video editing, you'll probably recognize the editing work here in this combat edit that was released by the Syrian Government. For the most part, this appears to be unprovoked aggression by the Syrian regime and Turkish-backed forces to seize territory, violating previous ceasefire agreements in the region. I will be archiving the Syrian Civil War until I am 70 at this stage.

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