Clashes broke out on Sunday evening, October 6, between forces of the Syrian Ministry of Defense and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the Deir Hafer front, east of Aleppo province.
According to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the SDF shelled the villages of Humeimeh and al-Keita near the city with artillery, prompting government forces to retaliate against the sources of fire.
In turn, the SDF accused the Syrian government forces of committing “new violations” in the area.
Conflicting Accounts
In a statement, the SDF said that an army drone had targeted one of its military vehicles on Sunday morning, injuring three of its fighters.
Later the same evening, an Internal Security patrol reportedly came under a similar attack, wounding four others. The statement also claimed that residential neighborhoods in Deir Hafer were hit with “random artillery fire”, intended to spread fear among residents and create chaos in northern and eastern Syria.
An official source in the Ministry of Defense, speaking to Enab Baladi on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment, downplayed the scale of the incident:
“It cannot be described as heavy fighting as has been claimed,” the source said, explaining that the confrontation consisted of sporadic long-range exchanges of heavy weapons fire, without any ground movement or direct clashes.
He added that any movement or appearance of SDF elements along the contact lines is met with a limited, targeted response, denying the SDF’s claims that government soldiers had been captured.
“These allegations are meant to boost morale and promote baseless media victories,” he said.
The source confirmed that the situation in Deir Hafer is currently stable, and that such incidents fall within the recurring skirmishes that the area witnesses from time to time, without major escalation or shifts in the front lines.
Defense Ministry Denial
The Ministry of Defense denied SDF claims that the army had shelled residential neighborhoods in Deir Hafer.
In a statement broadcast by Syrian state television (al-Ikhbariya) early Monday, October 6, the ministry’s Department of Information and Communications said that the SDF’s allegations were “misleading” and aimed at covering up its own violations against civilians in northeastern Syria and its ongoing attempts to undermine security and stability.
It added that army units exercised the highest levels of restraint, and that their fire was “limited to the sources of attack only,” specifically those that targeted the villages of Humeimeh and al-Keita east of Aleppo.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
