The Syrian interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF [10]) 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 [10]. Just hours before the agreement was reached, autonomous authorities in Kurdish region, known as Rojava, had announced a "general mobilization" in support of the SDF, citing an "existential war" launched by Damascus against their territory.
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said the agreement was signed remotely with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, who was unable to come to Damascus due to bad weather. Earlier in the day, Sharaa met at the presidential palace with the US special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack [13], who seems to have had a hand in brokering the agreement.
Key provisions of the agreement include the integration of SDF personnel "individually" into the Syrian Army rather than as a unified force, the full handover of SDF-held areas of Deir ez-Zor [14] and Raqqa provinces, and the integration of all institutions and employees of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North & East Syria (DAANES) into national ministries. The deal also establsihes the central state's control over all border crossings and energy resources, including oil and gas fields [15].
Implementation of a March 2025 integration agreement [10] between Sharaa and the SDF/DAANES had stalled after the SDF pushed to be incorporated into the Army as a unified bloc, a demand rejected by Damascus.
Barrack said the US "looks forward to the seamless integration" of the SDF and the Syrian Army in the fight against ISIS.
The new agreement references and pledges to uphold a decree [16] issued by al-Sharaa two days earlier guaranteeing cultural, linguistic and citizenship rights to Syria's Kurdish population.
Significantly, it also calls for the removal of the heavy military presence from the contested town of Kobani [17] (Ain al-Arab), and the formation of a local security force drawn from the city's residents, under joint administration by municipal authorities and the Ministry of Interior.
The agreement also calls for transfer of massive detention camps [18] for suspected ISIS collaborators from SDF control to that the Syrian government. (Rudaw [11])
