Thousands Flee Raqqa and Tabqa as Syria Government and Kurdish Forces Escalate Violence in North-East Syria

Following an escalation of violence between government forces and Kurdish forces in north-east Syria, residents of Raqqa and Tabqa fled in large numbers toward other cities in the country, UN agencies said on Tuesday.

“Residents of Deir ez-Zor, in eastern Syria, face daily difficulties moving between the banks of the Euphrates River as the province's bridges are out of service, amid efforts to rehabilitate the infrastructure there and the emergence of organizational initiatives to ease the current crisis”

Al-Jazeera Net

The Syrian government announced a four-day ceasefire with the Kurds in the north of the country on Tuesday evening, after an agreement on the fate of their bastion of Hassaké.

Al-Jazeera Net

The UN’s International Organization for Migration said more than 6,000 people fled Raqqa province to Alep and Al-Hasakeh, and nearly 4,400 people were in collective shelters in Qamishli, while a count carried out on Sunday 18 January put about 7,000 others still in transit.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said families newly displaced are arriving in difficult winter conditions and face a severe shortage of shelters, food, non-food items, and heating fuel.

The UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said the Secretary-General is following the violence in north-east Syria with “une grande préoccupation” and called for “le plein respect du droit international et à la protection des civils.”

In Deir Ezzor, the Ministry of Defense inaugurated a temporary bridge linking the villages of Marat and Maraiyya, spanning the Euphrates, in the presence of governor Ghassan Al-Sayed Ahmed and the commander of the 66th Division, Brigadier General Ahmed Mohammed Al-Jassem.

At the same time, Enab Baladi reported that disruption of bridges across the Euphrates has raised prices in Deir ez-Zor, as primitive ferries returned as the only emergency alternative after earthen and makeshift bridges went out of service for about two weeks due to rising water levels.

UN News

Enab Baladi said drivers faced chaotic crossing fees without official regulation, with charges reaching up to 50,000 Syrian pounds for small cars, 100,000 pounds for medium vehicles, and 150,000 to 200,000 pounds for large trucks.

A Syria Now correspondent cited by Al-Jazeera Net said the exclusive reliance on ferries leads to long car queues and waiting times of two to three hours, with transport movement threatened with a complete halt if ferries stay long periods or suffer mechanical faults.

Al-Jazeera Net also said the round-trip cost via ferries reaches about 30,000 Syrian pounds (about two dollars), and described the “Political Crossing” as the crossing point for people and bicycles between the Euphrates banks.

UN agencies said the rapid spread of insecurity beyond Alep after a ceasefire announcement on 11 January extended to the governorates of Ar-Raqqa, deir-ez-Zor, and the south of Al-Hasakeh, increasing risks for civilians and disrupting essential infrastructure.

“Deir Ezzor (SANA) The Ministry of Defense inaugurated a temporary bridge linking the villages of Marat and Maraiyya, spanning the Euphrates at Deir Ezzor”

سانا

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the degradation also hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid and was accompanied by violence and public-service disruptions, including confrontations reported on 17 January 2026 in Deir ez-Zor along the Euphrate.

In Deir ez-Zor, public services were suspended, including schools, universities, and administrations, which led to the postponement of exams, while UN reporting also described limited families temporarily displaced from the Hawiqa neighborhood before returning once the situation stabilized.

In parallel, the Syrian government announced a total budget of 37 million US dollars to address the bridge and road crisis in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, with one track allocating 6.7 million dollars for six maintenance projects for vital road corridors and another track costing more than 30 million dollars for bridge rehabilitation and road maintenance.

Enab Baladi reported that on June 7 of the current year, the Ministry of Transport announced a government plan with capital exceeding 37 million U.S. dollars to rehabilitate the road and bridge network in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, including studying proposals for new bridges according to global engineering standards.