US Commander Urges Restraint Amid Escalated Fighting in Syria’s Aleppo

America supported the Syrian Democratic Forces during the Syrian civil war but has also tried to make diplomatic inroads with the new interim government.

A member of the Kurdish security forces stands guard as Syrian Kurds hold a portrait of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa that reads "Killers of Humanity," during a protest in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Jan. 13, 2026. Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East raised a note of alarm on Jan. 13 over a new outburst of fighting in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.

“We are closely monitoring developments in Aleppo and the surrounding region,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said in a statement.

“We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid actions that could further escalate tensions, and prioritize the protection of civilians and critical infrastructure.

“We also continue to call on all relevant actors to return to the negotiating table in good faith and to pursue a durable diplomatic resolution through dialogue.”

Syria fell into civil war in 2011 as a variety of different factions sought to drive then-Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from power.

While Assad finally abandoned power and fled the country in December 2024, fighting has continued throughout Syria in sporadic episodes ever since.

The predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have repeatedly clashed with Syria’s de facto interim government in Damascus. Aleppo has been one of the venues of their continued fighting in recent weeks.

On Jan. 13, the Syrian state-operated SANA news agency reported that the army of the interim Syrian government had declared closed military zones covering the Deir Hafer and Maskanah areas of the Aleppo Province.

The interim Syrian government declared these military cordons in response to force mobilizations by the SDF, along with other Kurdish groups that the government described as terrorist militias and “remnants of the deposed regime.”

SDF officials denied the Syrian government’s claims that SDF elements were continuing to mobilize near Deir Hafer and Maskanah.

In a Jan. 13 statement, the SDF said that those claims amounted to “an attempt to manufacture tension and create pretexts for escalation.”

A deepening factional conflict in Syria could pose a test of loyalties for the United States.

The United States primarily supported the SDF during the Syrian civil war and a concurrent ISIS insurgency.

However, since Assad’s fall, U.S. leaders have tried to make diplomatic inroads with the interim government in Damascus.

Toward the end of his term, then-President Joe Biden’s administration retracted a $10 million counterterror reward for information leading to the arrest of Syria’s interim leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Sharaa came to power in Damascus at the head of an army of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters.

HTS, which began as a Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda, had been labeled as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States until the Trump administration retracted the designation in July.

Trump has hosted Sharaa at the White House and taken additional steps to relax sanctions against Syria, giving the interim Syrian leader more latitude to lead.

Rapprochement between Sharaa’s interim government and the SDF has proven elusive.

In March, Sharaa signed a deal with SDF leaders, with a goal to have their forces integrate into the Syrian army by the end of 2025.

The Trump administration has pushed the SDF to fulfill the deal to merge its forces with those of the interim Syrian government, but continued disagreements have stymied those plans.

“As I’ve previously stated, a Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors can lead to a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East,” Cooper said on Jan. 13.

“The United States and Syria have a shared interest in preserving peace and stability across the region.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.