Syrian troops fighting US-backed Kurdish-led forces seized the Omar oil field, the country’s largest, and the Conoco gas field in the eastern Deir Zor province as allied Arab tribal forces advanced in the oil-rich area along the border with Iraq, officials and security sources said on Sunday. The takeover of the oil fields that lie east of the Euphrates River — a main source of revenue for the Kurdish-led forces — was a major blow to the group, which officials said had deprived the state of resources used by the militia. ADVERTISEMENTThe Syrian army pressed ahead into predominantly Arab-populated areas of northeast Syria controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), despite US calls to halt its advance. Syrian Kurdish authorities have not acknowledged the loss of those strategic sites, and it remained unclear whether fighting was still ongoing. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that he had spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to convey France’s concerns over the Syrian government’s ongoing military offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Source: The Telegraph January 18, 2026 10:35 UTC