International Coalition forces departed Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo, Syria, between 1:46 PM and 2:45 PM UTC on January 16, 2026, after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) refused to withdraw with no deal reached, according to an X post by @Al7khalidi. American forces visited Deir Hafer over the past hour to de-escalate tensions between the SDF and Syrian forces and prevent a government assault on the area, as reported by @NPA_Arabic via an X post shared by ThomasVLinge. This follows a US-mediated meeting between a Syrian government delegation and Kurdish forces in Deir Hafer earlier, per previous reports from @kaisos1987. Journalist Amberin Zaman reported that SDF commander-in-chief Mazlum Abdi will meet US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack in Erbil tomorrow, according to Kurdish Front News on Telegram. A circulating claim that Reuters quoted the US envoy stating the White House cut communications with the SDF and that the coalition's role is limited to fighting ISIS was debunked as fabricated by Verify-Sy, which found no supporting results on the Reuters website and identified the source as a deceptive page. These developments build on Syrian forces arresting an SDF intelligence member attempting terrorist operations in Deir Hafer between 1:16 PM and 1:45 PM UTC, as stated by the Syrian Ministry of Defense via @AJSyriaNowN, and a prior drone shootdown on the Deir Hafer axis denied by the SDF.
