Syrian army forces reached the city center of Hasakah at the Panorama junction between 8:16 PM and 8:45 PM UTC on January 19, 2026, as they advanced into the city, according to X posts by BarracudaVol1. During the same 29-minute period, the Syrian Democratic Forces armed civilians including children and women in Qamishli and Kobani, per X users EgidSerzan and omar_alharir. SDF-affiliated sources reported residents of Qamishli from ages 7 to 70 carrying weapons to defend their land and a public alarm in Kobani urging those without weapons to report to the Revolutionary Youth Center immediately, as posted by EgidSerzan on X. Weapons distribution continued indiscriminately in Kobani, with many recipients unable to use them, according to omar_alharir on X. Details emerged of Damascus talks where SDF commander Mazloum Abdi sought to revise terms, prompting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to offer him Deputy Defense Minister and a Hasakah governor nomination in exchange for finalizing the deal and separating SDF from the PKK, as stated by mintelworld on X. Al-Sharaa rejected Abdi's demand for continued SDF control over Hasakah, insisting on Interior Ministry forces entering the city and requiring an answer by day's end or resolution by force. The Kurdistan Workers' Party called on youth in Syria, neighboring countries, and Europe to join resistance ranks, per omar_alharir on X citing a PKK statement. A video showed Ankil al-Jabal, an Iranian-origin figure from Qandil accused of torturing and executing Deir ez-Zor civilians, among SDF at Raqqa prison during handover to Syrian forces, according to omar_alharir. In Raqqa, the newly-appointed governor held his first meeting on government services, while the Interior Ministry opened recruitment for security personnel from Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, and Hasakah provinces for ages 18-32 with five years' Syrian nationality and two-month training, as reported by QalaatAlMudiq on X. These developments follow Syrian army advances toward Hasakah and prior SDF mobilizations reported earlier on January 19.
