Damascus: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has reached an agreement to enforce a ceasefire between government forces and the US-allied Kurdish-led forces in eastern and northern Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported on Sunday.
According to Ghana News Agency, a 'comprehensive and immediate ceasefire on all fronts and points of contact' between the government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was announced as part of an agreement published by SANA. The SDF also agreed to withdraw to the east of the Euphrates River as a preliminary step towards redeployment, the agreement stated.
The accord includes a handover of the SDF's administrative and military control of the eastern Deir al-Zour and al-Raqqa provinces, as well as integrating all civilian institutions in the al-Hassakeh province within the government institutions. SDF forces will also be integrated within the interior and defence ministries. Additionally, the SDF will provide a list of nominations to fill senior military, security, and civilian positions within the central government to ensure national partnership, SANA added.
Al-Sharaa signed the deal after a meeting with US envoy Tom Barrack. Although SDF commander Mazloum Abdi was expected in Damascus on Sunday, the visit was postponed due to bad weather, al-Sharaa told reporters. The deal followed significant territorial gains by government forces in northern and eastern Syria, including capturing a major oil field and the country's largest dam, and it comes ahead of al-Sharaa's visit to Berlin on Monday and Tuesday.
The SDF, a close US ally, is recognized for its crucial role in the US-led fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization. Meanwhile, government forces and their allied Arab tribes took over several villages in the countryside of Deir al-Zour province on Sunday, following the withdrawal of SDF fighters from the area, as reported by a war monitor. The escalating violence has led thousands of Kurdish families to flee to the embattled areas to al-Hassakeh, a Kurd-governed province in Syria's far north east, according to the Observatory.
There has been no comment from the SDF regarding territorial losses. However, the Kurdish-led militia claimed to have foiled attacks by Islamic State operatives against its forces in al-Raqqa and thwarted attacks near the strategic Tishreen Dam in northern Syria.
The move by government forces into Kurd-controlled areas followed an internationally brokered withdrawal deal announced by Abdi, the SDF commander, on Friday. Abdi stated that the pull-out decision was made as a gesture of goodwill and as part of a commitment to a pact struck last year on the integration of the SDF into government forces following the overthrow of Syria's long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Both sides have accused each other of violating the agreement and have provided conflicting reports regarding the areas covered by the withdrawal pact. The US, which also supports the Damascus administration, has urged Syrian government forces to halt military actions in areas between Aleppo and Tabqa to focus on combating the Islamic State.
Kurds, the largest ethnic minority in Syria, primarily reside in the north-east in a self-governing region. Their conflict with the Damascus government centers on the extent of autonomy and rights they will be granted, including the use of natural resources, as most of Syria's oil and gas reserves are in the north-east.
Syria's transitional government, led by al-Sharaa, accuses the SDF of tolerating al-Assad loyalists and members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). According to the new deal reported by SANA, the SDF commits to deport all non-Syrian PKK members. In a gesture of reassurance, al-Sharaa issued a decree confirming Syrian Kurds' rights, recognizing their language as a national language, and declaring their annual Nowruz festival an official holiday.
Despite these assurances, Kurdish representatives remain distrustful of al-Sharaa, the former leader of the Islamist group HTS, and caution against a potential resurgence of Islamic State.