People In Syria Are Celebrating After The Government And Kurdish-Led Forces Agreed To A New Ceasefire
The government and the SDF finally agreed to a ceasefire again in a 14-point agreement.
People in Syria are celebrating after the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have agreed to a new ceasefire deal to fully merge the SDF into the Syrian military, following days of deadly clashes.
The SDF is a Kurdish-dominated, US-backed group that controls significant parts of northeastern Syria, including Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo, primarily Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods.
Earlier in March 2025, the head of SDF Mazloum Abdi had signed a deal with interim Syrian president Ahmed Al-Sharaa to integrate the SDF into all of the Syrian state’s military and civilian entities.
The deal was due to be implemented by the end of 2025, but the government said the SDF has been stalling.
Clashes then erupted between the government and SDF forces in early January, forcing over 150,000 people to flee their homes and killing more than 24 people, before the SDF agreed to withdraw from Aleppo’s Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods to northern and eastern Syria on Jan. 11.
Following the SDF withdrawal from Aleppo, Sharaa issued on Friday, Jan 16, a decree formally recognizing Kurdish as a national language alongside Arabic, allowing schools to teach it and recognizing all Kurdish Syrians as citizens.
However, on Saturday, Jan. 17, clashes were renewed in several cities in northeast Syria, including in the city of Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, which contains significant oil and gas fields, with the government gaining control of significant areas.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the government and the SDF finally agreed to a ceasefire again in a 14-point agreement.
Under the agreement, the government will take control of Raqqa and Deir al-Zour provinces, as well as all border crossings, and Sharaa will appoint the provincial governor.
The government will also take over Syria’s gas and oil fields, nearly all of which have been under SDF control, according to the New York Times.
The SDF will merge into the Syrian Army, accept the current constitution, expel non-Syrian PKK affiliates and keep control of Hassakah, a Kurdish majority province.
Sharaa and Abdi are expected to meet on Monday, Jan. 19.
The ceasefire was widely celebrated in Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, both predominantly Arab provinces.
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
