US EditionSyrian government, US-backed Kurdish forces agree immediate ceasefire
The ceasefire includes SDF withdrawal east of the Euphrates and integration of its forces into Syrian military; control of key provinces and infrastructure shifts to Damascus, officials said.
- By Wednesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces signed onto a deal that would effectively dissolve it, after two tumultuous weeks as Washington shifted backing to Syria's nascent government.
- Analysts say the SDF miscalculated by expecting U.S. military backing, while stalled U.S.-mediated negotiations left core issues unresolved as U.S. officials increasingly viewed Damascus as a strategic partner.
- Damascus agreed to integrate SDF fighters individually and assume control of border crossings, oil fields, and detention centers while allowing SDF presence in Hassakeh with three battalions and named brigades.
- After capturing Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, government forces announced the deal ending SDF dominance, while Syrian military leadership’s efforts to limit civilian casualties and open humanitarian corridors aided the breakthrough.
- Kurdish leaders face limited autonomy as fractured SDF leadership and Sipan Hamo’s hardline demands blocked consensus amid disputes over future Syrian governance.
256 Articles
256 Articles
US Shifts Away From Kurdish-Led Forces in Fight Against Islamic State
BEIRUT — The U.S. special envoy to Syria said Tuesday that Washington no longer needed to rely on Kurdish-led forces as its primary partner to fight the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria because the government was ready to take over security duties. The comments by the envoy, Tom Barrack, appeared to be a significant shift in U.S. policy toward the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF — Washington’s primary ally in Syria over the past decade. “…
Syria: can new integration pact avert war on Rojava?
The Syrian interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached an agreement Jan. 18 to immediately halt fighting and integrate SDF-held areas into state institutions. The deal follows days of renewed clashes, in which government forces routed SDF strongholds in the city of Aleppo and then pushed east, taking several towns that had been under the control of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration. Just hours before the…
In a lightning war, Syrian government units brought a crushing defeat to the Kurdish troops in the east of the country. An agreement signed on Monday probably seals the end of their years of autonomy.
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