Syria, SDF agree ceasefire, phased integration deal

DAMASCUS

A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter stands on a pickup truck, with a road leading toward the front line visible in the background, ahead of the end of a four-day truce with the Syrian government in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.(AP)

Syrian state television reported on Friday that the Damascus government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached an agreement providing for a ceasefire and the phased integration of SDF structures into the Syrian state.

The SDF also announced that it had agreed with Damascus on a “comprehensive ceasefire” and a step-by-step plan for integration.

Under the deal, SDF forces will withdraw from front lines, while government units will deploy to the urban centres of Hasakah and Qamishli, and local security forces will be merged into state structures.

The announcement follows weeks of clashes in northern and northeastern Syria that ended with Damascus retaking swathes of territory previously held by the SDF and pushing for the SDF administration to be folded into central state institutions.

Syria’s defense ministry had extended a ceasefire by 15 days last week to keep a fragile calm in place while the United States moved some suspected ISIL detainees from northeastern Syria to detention facilities in Iraq.