A source in Syria's Ministry of Information denied rumors of massacres in Al-Hasakah governorate between 9:16 PM and 9:45 PM UTC on January 18, 2026, stating no confirmed information exists, according to Euphrates Post, as X posts from omar_alharir reported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) abducting three named Arab tribal members—Maad Abdul Salam Al-Tayef, Hamza Jalal Al-Wahb, and Rakan Mohammad Al-Wahb—during a raid on Housh Al-Baaer neighborhood in Al-Hasakah city. BassamAboAdnan stated on X that SDF bullets killed 13 civilians, including children, in Tal Majdal village in Jabal Abdul Aziz, while SDF forces besiege Al-Nashwa neighborhood and Makhroum town, preparing to storm them. SOHEB209 reported exaggeration in casualty figures, documenting only six names from the Tal Majdal incident, including Moayad Hussein Jahlan and Ayman Ibrahim, contradicting earlier claims of 120 deaths. AmniMap reported on X that SDF regained control of Al-Shaddadi city and several villages south of Al-Hasakah, launching a massive arrest campaign targeting tribal members, following Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's call for tribes to stop military action after reaching an agreement with SDF. Raqqa_SL stated Syrian army units are searching Saif al-Dawla neighborhood in Raqqa city for SDF remnants, urging residents to stay home. These reports follow earlier X posts detailing Baggara and Bushikh tribe mobilizations against SDF after reported killings of over 300 tribal members, as noted in prior updates from BarracudaVol1 and syrianFactCheck. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya quoted President Erdogan vowing to prevent a state in northern Syria, per Euphrates Post.
