Syrian Arab Army's Operations Authority announced between 3:16 PM and 3:46 PM UTC on January 17, 2026, extension of control over the Al-Rusafa area, its ancient citadel, and Safyan and Al-Thawra fields near Tabqa west of Raqqa, according to الإخبارية السورية. A child named Abdulilah Issa Al-Balil was killed by PKK snipers in Al-Ghanem Al-Ali village southeast of Raqqa, as reported by omar_alharir on X. Tribal sheikhs from the Al-Shuwait clan called on clans in Al-Jazeera to withdraw sons from SDF ranks, stand with the Syrian army, and urged the international coalition to end SDF support, per alsharqia24news on X. YPG members continued withdrawing from Al-Ghanim Al-Ali village, according to mintelworld on X. These follow Syrian army strikes on SDF headquarters in Tabqa's first district earlier on January 17, as previously reported. SDF artillery targeted positions near Tabqa airport, while Syrian artillery continued firing on SDF sites, as stated by Zaino Yasser Mahameed and Ebuselmnbelarus on X. NAYA reported rocket launchers fired by Al-Julani-affiliated groups toward Kurdish neighborhoods. Convoys headed to fronts amid ongoing targeting of SDF sites, per Zaino Yasser Mahameed.
