ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack is set to meet Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi in Erbil on Saturday as part of a “concerted US effort to avert a full-blown crisis” between Damascus and northeast Syria (Rojava), Al-Monitor reported on Friday, citing “well-informed sources.” 

Tensions have surged in northern Syria with the Syrian army and Damascus-affiliated factions seeking to strike the flashpoint town of Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo, after having driven out Kurdish-led security forces (Asayish) from Aleppo city’s two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods. 

The tensions are threatening to implode a landmark integration deal signed in March between Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to integrate the SDF and Rojava’s institutions into the Syrian state apparatus.

Citing “well-placed sources” on the condition of anonymity, Al-Monitor said that Barrack and Abdi will meet in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil as “part of a concerted US effort to avert a full-blown conflict between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led SDF.” 

The meeting was brokered by Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region, according to the outlet. 

The clashes in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods caused hundreds of civilian casualties and displaced more than 155,000.

Damascus then declared Deir Hafer and Maskana, east of Aleppo, as “closed military zones” urging the residents to evacuate the area through a humanitarian corridor, and announcing its intentions to draw the Kurdish forces out of the areas.

The implementation of the March agreement was long stalled by continued clashes between the two sides and disagreements on core governing principles, with the Kurdish authorities demanding a decentralized Syria while Damascus maintained its centralized stance.

The Syrian government has been widely criticized for its continuous crackdown on minority communities, with two major operations against the Alawites and Druze in March and July respectively, leading to the death of thousands of civilians.