The Aleppo Committee recorded over 11,000 civilians who managed to leave Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-held areas in the eastern Aleppo countryside so far, according to a post by @AleppoGov1 on X. In Deir Hafer, slow evacuation of civilians continues as a US convoy heads toward the area from Tabqa, as reported by @QalaatAlMudiq on X between 4:46 PM and 5:15 PM UTC on January 16, 2026. Dozens of people from Afrin, mostly Kurds, joined the Security Forces in Aleppo province, where an official delivered a welcome speech in Kurdish praising their choice to serve the state institution, per @QalaatAlMudiq on X during the reporting window. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani stated that further conflict in northeast Syria could spill over into the Kurdistan Region and jeopardize the peace process in Turkey, according to @vvanwilgenburg on X, referencing a Washington Institute policy analysis. A Turkish tank column gathered in the village of Kansafra in the Idlib countryside, as reported by Zino Yasser Mahameed on Telegram. These developments follow prior US mediation efforts in Deir Hafer, where an American patrol returned without an SDF agreement earlier on January 16, according to previous reports from @syrianFactCheck and @Al7khalidi on X.
