Syrian Arab Army forces took control of the Rusafa junction leading to Raqqa city and the Rusafa site south of Mansoura, entered Al-Ghanim Al-Ali town east of Raqqa, and began artillery preparations at Tabqa Military Airport, while mass surrenders occurred at all SDF points and elements fled SDF checkpoints south of Tabqa, according to X posts by syrianFactCheck and Raqqa_SL between 12:46 PM and 1:15 PM UTC on January 17, 2026. Syrian forces advanced toward Abdüzaziz (Kezwan) Mountain to defend the BPH side, as reported by BarracudaVol1 on X during the same 29-minute period. A warning was issued directly to Tabqa center targeting south of Raqqa city, per another BarracudaVol1 post. Bahoz Erdal, identified as the PKK ringleader, ordered forces in Tabqa to withdraw to an unknown location west of Hasakah, according to BarracudaVol1 on X. These developments follow Syrian army urgings for SDF withdrawal from Tabqa and advances toward Tabqa air base earlier on January 17, as stated by the Operations Authority to SANA.
