Syria’s Leader Agrees Truce with Kurds After Govt Troops Advance

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war.

The agreement will also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on the issue. But it marks a blow for the minority, which has long held ambitions of preserving the de facto autonomy they had exercised over areas they held for over a decade.

The Syrian presidency published the text of the 14-point agreement, which includes integrating the SDF and Kurdish security forces into the state and the immediate handover of Kurdish-run Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces, which are predominantly populated by Arabs and have been under Kurdish control.

Under the deal, the SDF will be integrated into the Defense Ministry while the Kurdish security forces will join the Interior Ministry. It will also see Damascus take responsibility for Islamic State group prisoners and their families held in Kurdish-run jails and camps.

The text also outlines the “integration of all civil institutions” in the Kurds’ stronghold of Hasakeh province into the state. Sharaa is set to issue a decree appointing a governor for the province — likely to be Kurdish. The SDF leadership will submit candidates for “senior military, security and civil positions”. (AFP)