US Senator warns Syria’s new president al-Sharaa over Kurdish offensive

The Syrian army’s rapid conquest of key areas and towns previously controlled by the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) culminated in a fragile ceasefire deal on Sunday with a stark warning from a powerful U.S. senator and experts about crimes reported by forces controlled by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Idaho Republican Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Fox News Digital: “The Syrian government’s executive order to respect the rights of the Kurds is a good sign, but the conduct of its forces on the ground must be up to par. Division and violence in Syria between America’s partners only benefits bad actors like ISIS and Iran who exploit Syria to use it as a breeding ground for international terrorism, including against the United States.

Al-Sharaa, a former U.S.-designated terrorist and member of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, green-lighted an incursion into territory peacefully ruled by the SDF for more than a decade.

Amid Risch’s warning, reports from Syria claim that skirmishes between the Syrian army and the SDF continue.

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Some residents welcome the Syrian army after the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Tabqa, Syria, January 18, 2026. (Karam al-Masri/Reuters)

The Kurdistan 24 news agency showed alleged footage of al-Sharaa forces freeing Islamic State prisoners. According to the report, “Syrian Arab Army releases ISIS prisoners in al-Tabqah town.”

The images were widely distributed on social networks. Fox News Digital could not independently verify the video.

Idaho Republican Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Fox News Digital: “The Syrian government’s executive order to respect the rights of the Kurds is a good sign, but the conduct of its forces on the ground must be up to par. » (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The State Department referred Fox News Digital to a message from U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also special envoy for Syria. Barrack wrote on X about the deal between SDF General Mazloum Abdi and al-Sharra.

“Two great Syrian leaders, driven by the shared vision of freeing their country and their people from tyranny, have now come together to forge a better future for all Syrians. This agreement and ceasefire represent a crucial inflection point, where former adversaries prioritize partnership over division.

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Syrian army soldiers at the entrance to the Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood during continued fighting between Syrian forces and the SDF on January 10, 2026 in Aleppo, Syria. The ceasefire announced yesterday has not been respected as fighting continues between the Syrian army and Kurdish fighters in the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods of Aleppo. Overnight, the army announced that it had completed a security operation in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. (Adri Salido/Getty Image)

Barrack added: “President al-Sharaa affirmed that the Kurds are an integral part of Syria, and the United States looks forward to the seamless integration of our historic partner in the fight against ISIS with the newest member of the Global Coalition, as we move forward in the enduring battle against terrorism. »

However, the commander of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) Sipan Hamo – a Syrian organization that is part of the SDF – said on Saturday that the meeting between US envoy Tom Barrack and Kurdish officials did not result in any road map for a ceasefire. He denied that Syrian Kurds wanted to secede or create an independent state and said their future was in Syria.

“Our greatest hope is that there will be a tangible outcome, particularly from the coalition and the United States, which means that they will intervene more forcefully in existing problems than they currently do,” Hamo said.

The leader of the main Kurdish forces told Reuters the United States should intervene more forcefully to end a Syrian offensive that has won key territory from Kurdish fighters in recent days.

U.S. forces provide military training to SDF members in the Qamisli district of Al-Hasakah province, Syria, August 18, 2023. (Photo by Hedil Amir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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Government troops launched an offensive Saturday on territory run for a decade by semi-autonomous Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria, capturing towns on both sides of the Euphrates River and the country’s largest oil and gas field, officials and security sources said.

But given the Kurds’ “concerns” about the ongoing changes, the United States should offer them guarantees of protection.

Hamo said that “in the current situation and in the chaos in which we live, the only ones who can offer guarantees are the United States or the coalition,” he added in a rare interview from Hassake province, still under Kurdish control.

“We believe that the responsibility for everything that is happening now in Syria lies with Western countries, and in particular with the United States of America,” he said.

FILE – In this March 23, 2019 file photo, fighters from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pose for a photo in Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo)

“Of course, we see Israel as a powerful state in the region with its own agenda. We hope that the same stance taken by other countries in the region towards some minorities in Syria will also be extended to the Kurds,” Hamo said.

Asked if he was referring to Israel’s stance towards the Druze minority last summer – when Israel carried out airstrikes against the Defense Ministry, near the presidential palace in Damascus and against Syrian troops advancing on Druze towns, Hamo replied: “of course.”

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Tom Barrack met with the Syrian president on behalf of the United States on Saturday January 10. (@USAMBTurkiye via X)

Mutlu Civiroglu, a Kurdish affairs analyst, told Fox News Digital that “President Trump has talked about giving Syria and all its peoples a new opportunity to turn a new page. Yet Ahmed al Sharaa’s actions appear to run counter to this intention, and many Kurds believe he is abusing the political space that was supposed to support stability rather than deepen tensions. »

Civiroglu added that I don’t think the United States is abandoning the Kurds, but that Sharia law is abusing President Trump’s good intentions. Lawmakers in Washington have also expressed concern over the interim Syrian government’s treatment of minorities, which reflects broader questions about its commitment to inclusive governance. »

A group of civilians smash the statue of a Syrian Democratic Forces fighter in the town of Tabqa after the Syrian army took control of it, in Tabqa, Syria, January 18, 2026. (Karam al-Masri/Reuters)

Civiroglu posted images on his popular US-backed Kurdish fighters liberated the city from ISIS in May 2017.

Civiroglu said: “Al-Sharaa’s confrontations with Kurdish forces, following previous pressure on Alawite and Druze areas, reinforce doubts about the legitimacy of the interim government and its ability to represent the diversity of the Syrian population.

“The international community must remember that the Kurdish people have long fought alongside the United States, France and the West in the campaign against ISIS, and many are closely watching how these partners interpret the latest escalation,” he said.

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Max Abrahms, a leading counterterrorism expert and professor of political science at Northeastern University, told Fox News Digital: “The YPG and then the SDF were the primary U.S. counterterrorism forces against the Islamic State in Syria during the war. Unlike the so-called “rebels,” our Kurdish warrior friends demonstrated both capacity and moderation. be at their side. »