Syrian Army units took control of Al-Qashla village west of Tishreen Dam, one of the last defense lines for the dam, between 9:46 AM and 10:15 AM UTC on January 18, 2026, according to DeirEzzore on X. Arab tribal fighters entered the outskirts of Al-Shaddadi south of Al-Hasakah during this period, as stated by Zaino Yasser Mahamid on Telegram. Tribal forces surrounded an entire regiment of PKK members and regime remnants in the Al-Sur area north of Deir ez-Zor, with clashes ongoing and dozens of vehicles targeted as they withdrew toward Al-Hasakah, DeirEzzore reported on X. Massive chaos erupted within the PKK militia in Al-Shaddadi, including large defections, as militias closed the city entrance with an earthen berm, according to omar_alharir on X. BMC Amazon vehicles shipped by Türkiye appeared on the Tabqa and Raqqa line, per BarracudaVol1 on X. Engineers from Syrian Petroleum entered the Al-Omar and Conico fields in Deir ez-Zor before the Syrian Army at dawn, DeirEzzore noted on X. These developments follow Syrian Army and tribal advances toward Tishreen Dam and captures east of Raqqa earlier this morning, as previously reported.
