A four-day ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish forces, which expired on Saturday evening, has been extended by 15 days, both sides said, offering a respite amid rising tensions, Reuters reports.
Government forces have captured large areas of the country's north and east from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the past two weeks, in a rapid development that has consolidated the rule of President Ahmed al-Shara.
Sharia's forces were closing in on the SDF's last strongholds earlier this week when he suddenly announced a ceasefire, giving them until Saturday evening to lay down their arms and work out a plan for integration into the Syrian army – or the fighting would continue.
Earlier on Saturday, a Syrian official said the SDF had not responded to government attempts to make contact, while the SDF accused the government of "systematically" moving towards escalation through a military buildup.
However, about an hour before midnight, the Syrian Defense Ministry announced that its forces would suspend military operations for an additional 15 days to support the ongoing US operation to transfer Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq.
The SDF said in a statement that the agreement was reached with international mediation, "while dialogue with Damascus continues."
The new ceasefire came into effect at 23 p.m., the ministry said in a statement.
US, France warn al-Shara about Kurds, sources say
The United States is conducting intensive diplomatic activity to establish a lasting ceasefire and facilitate the integration of the SDF - which for years was Washington's main partner in Syria - into the state now led by the West's new favorite ally, Shaara, Reuters reports.
Senior US and French officials have urged Sharjah not to send troops into the remaining Kurdish-held areas, fearing renewed fighting could lead to mass atrocities against Kurdish civilians, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
Government-aligned forces killed nearly 1.500 people from the Alawite minority and hundreds of members of the Druze community in sectarian violence last year, including summary executions.
Amid instability in the northeast, the US military is transferring hundreds of detained Islamic State fighters from Syrian prisons previously run by the SDF across the border into Iraq.
The culmination of a year of rising tensions
As Saturday's deadline approached, SDF forces reinforced their defensive positions in the cities of Qamishli, Hasakah and Kobani ahead of possible fighting, Kurdish security sources told Reuters.
The possible showdown represents the culmination of growing tensions over the past year.
Shaara, whose forces overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, has vowed to bring all of Syria under state control – including areas in the northeast held by the SDF.
However, Kurdish authorities, who have run autonomous civil and military institutions in the region for the past decade, have resisted joining the new Islamist-led government.
After a unification deadline expired at the end of the year without significant progress, Syrian troops launched an offensive this month.
They quickly captured two key Arab-majority provinces from the SDF, bringing important oil fields, hydroelectric power plants, and some facilities holding Islamic State fighters and associated civilians under government control.
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