Syrian military security personnel arrested a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) intelligence member attempting to leave the Deir Hafer area east of Aleppo, Syria, with civilians to carry out terrorist operations between 1:16 PM and 1:45 PM UTC on January 16, 2026, according to the Syrian Ministry of Defense's Department of Information and Communication, as reported by @AJSyriaNowN on X. The arrest occurred during reports of a US-mediated meeting between a Syrian government delegation and Kurdish forces in Deir Hafar in eastern Aleppo suburbs to calm tensions between al-Sharia and the Kurds, as stated by @kaisos1987 on X in the past 29 minutes. SDF leadership, including Gia_Kobani, Ruhlat_Afrin, and Sarkhbon_Kobani, announced a final decision for the cities of Deir Hafir and Maskanah, according to an X post by πβπ¦ πΆππ π π΄πππ€ππ‘π citing a Telegram channel. Separately, Mustafa Harki with 5,000 Harki and Syrian fighters headed to the Syrian border demanding SDF border guards allow entry to Rojava, noting their participation as Peshmerga trainees in ISIS fights in Mosul, Shingal, Zammar, and Khanaqin, per the same X account. These events follow Syrian forces shooting down a drone on the Deir Hafer axis earlier between 12:46 PM and 1:15 PM UTC, which the SDF denied ownership of, and a US convoy reaching Deir Hafer center beforehand, according to prior reports from Damas Post, SDF statements, and SDF War Observatory X posts.
