Cease-fire between Damascus and Kurdish forces extended

The Syrian government and Kurdish forces have agreed to extend their ceasefire, which was due to expire Saturday night, sources from both sides told AFP. A Syrian official said the extension would last one month.

Declared on Tuesday, the four-day cease-fire has largely been respected, even as Kurdish forces face a military offensive by the Syrian army in the country’s northeast.

“The agreement should be extended by one month, partly to complete the transfer [to Iraq] of Islamic State prisoners,” a Syrian government source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. A diplomatic source in Damascus confirmed the extension, saying it would last “a maximum of one month.” No official announcement had been made by Saturday evening.

On the Kurdish side, a source close to the negotiations said the ceasefire was being extended “until a mutually acceptable political solution is found,” without specifying a timeframe.

The Syrian government, which is seeking to restore its authority across the country, announced on Sunday an agreement with the Kurds to integrate their civil and military institutions into the state.

Under the agreement, Syrian Kurds are required to submit a plan for integrating their region into the state, dimming hopes for continued autonomy after they established a self-governed zone in the north and northeast during the civil war (2011–2024). The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have submitted a proposal to Damascus through the U.S. envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, according to the Kurdish source. The proposal includes Damascus’s demand to take control of border crossings and calls for revenues from those crossings and from oil production to be allocated to Kurdish-majority regions.

Driven from Aleppo earlier in January after deadly fighting, and more recently from parts of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces, the SDF, the military arm of the Kurdish autonomous administration, have now withdrawn to the core of their territory in Hasakeh province. They are now surrounded by forces loyal to President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Recent clashes have raised concerns over camps holding Islamic State prisoners in the area, which have until now been guarded by Kurdish forces. The Syrian army has retaken control of al-Hol camp, the largest detention site for relatives of jihadists, while the United States has begun transferring prisoners to Iraq.