Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias bombed areas in the southern Al-Jawadiyah countryside of Al-Hasakah Governorate with rocket launchers after Syrian Arab Army advances there between 5:16 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. UTC on Jan. 26, 2026, according to Al-Sharqiya Official Reporter. Reporters are attempting to reach the Semalka crossing. A military source outlined the next phase strategy, including controlling the Semalka crossing to prevent foreign fighter influx, cutting supply routes, separating cities, and securing permanent humanitarian corridors, as stated by X user Qussai_jukhadar. Central negotiations failure would lead to separate negotiations with each city. Engineering teams neutralized a booby-trapped motorcycle (VBIED) in a former SDF-YPG base in Raqqa city, with demining ongoing in SDF-held areas including booby-trapped sewers under a checkpoint in Deir Hafer, eastern Aleppo, according to X user QalaatAlMudiq. The Anti-Narcotics Department intercepted a large liquid cocaine shipment at Latakia port, arriving on a vessel from Brazil and concealed in vegetable oil cans for smuggling to a neighboring country, marking the first such seizure since the fall of Assad, per QalaatAlMudiq.
