Syrian Ministry of Defense forces bombed Al-Aqtan Prison in the Raqqa countryside with a rocket launcher between 6:46 PM and 7:15 PM UTC on January 19, 2026, in preparation for storming the facility after failed negotiations to receive it from SDF forces, according to a Syrian observer on social media. Clashes intensified between the Syrian Arab Army and Kurdistan Workers' Party militia in the prison vicinity during this 29-minute period, as reported by X user omar_alharir. Foza Yusif stated that no positive result emerged from the meeting between SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Ahmed al-Sharaa, with Abdi returning to Rojava, Damascus demanding a full handover, and Kurds opting for resistance while preferring no war, according to an X post by SarwanBarzani_ shared in the reporting window. Separately, YPG forces deployed combat vehicles to Hasakah, per X user Cadusuhan_2. Turkey backs full integration of SDF into Syria to ensure lasting peace, President Erdogan said, as reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) during the period. The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced locating missing citizen Muhammad Qabnad and kidnapped Hamza al-Laham in the Damascus countryside, securing them and pursuing the criminal cell, in a statement posted by AlekhbariahSY on X. These developments follow prior SDF withdrawals from Al-Shaddadi and clashes south of Hasakah, as noted in earlier reports from Vvan Wilgenburg on X.
