Damascus, Jan 18, (dpa/GNA) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has reached an agreement to enforce a ceasefire between government forces and the US-allied Kurdish-led forces in eastern and northern Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported on Sunday.
A “comprehensive and immediate ceasefire on all fronts and points of contact” between the government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was announced in terms of an agreement published by SANA.
The SDF also agreed to withdraw to the east of the Euphrates River as a preliminary step towards redeployment, the agreement stated.
The accord also includes a handover of the SDF’s administrative and military control of the eastern Deir al-Zour and al-Raqqa provinces and for integrating all civilian institutions in the al-Hassakeh province within the government institutions. SDF forces will also be integrated within the interior and defence ministries.
SDF will provide a list of nominations to fill senior military, security, and civilian positions within the central government to ensure national partnership, SANA added.
Al-Sharaa signed the deal after a meeting with US envoy Tom Barrack. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi was expected in Damascus on Sunday, however, the visit was postponed due to bad weather, al-Sharaa told reporters.
The deal came after government forces had made territorial gains in northern and eastern Syria in a swift push against the Kurdish-led forces, including capturing a major oil field and the country’s largest dam.
It comes on the eve of al-Sharaa’s visit to Berlin on Monday and Tuesday.
The SDF, the military wing of the Kurdish self-administration in Syria’s north-east, is a close US ally that played a leading role in the US-led fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization.
The government forces and their allied Arab tribes on Sunday also took over several villages in the countryside of Deir al-Zour province, after SDF fighters withdrew from the area, a war monitor said.
The escalating violence has forced thousands of Kurdish families to flee to the embattled areas to al-Hassakeh, a Kurd-governed province in Syria’s far north east, according to the Observatory.
There was no SDF comment on territorial losses.
The Kurdish-led militia said it foiled attacks by Islamic State operatives against its forces in al-Raqqa, a former de-facto capital of the terrorist group and aborted attacks near the strategic Tishreen Dam in northern Syria, which is important for controlling resources such as water and electricity.
The push by government forces into Kurd-controlled areas followed an internationally brokered withdrawal deal announced by Abdi, the SDF commander, on Friday.
Abdi said the pull-out decision was taken as a gesture of goodwill and as part of a commitment to implement a pact struck last year on the integration of the SDF into the government forces following the overthrow of Syria’s long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad.
However, both sides accused each other of violating the agreement. Both also gave conflicting reports on the areas covered by the withdrawal pact.
The US, which also backs the Damascus administration, has called on the Syrian government forces to halt military actions in areas located between the northern city of Aleppo and Tabqa, to focus on the fighting the Islamic State.
Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria and live mainly in Syria’s north-east in a self-governing region.
Their conflict with the Damascus government is primarily about how much autonomy and what rights they will be granted, including the use of natural resources. Most of the country’s oil and gas reserves are located in the north-east.
Syria’s transitional government, led by al-Sharaa, accuses the SDF of tolerating al-Assad loyalists and members of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) within its ranks.
SANA reported that, according to the new deal, the SDF commits to deport all non-Syrian PKK members.
In a gesture of reassurance, al-Sharaa on Friday issued a decree confirming Syrian Kurds’ rights, recognizing their language as a national language and declaring their annual Nowruz festival an official holiday.
Still, Kurdish representatives distrust assurances by al-Sharaa, the former leader of the Islamist group HTS, that their rights will be protected. They also warn of a possible resurgence of Islamic State.
GNA