Recent weeks have witnessed escalating tensions across Syria, stretching from Aleppo to Al-Hasakah. Today, Damascus announced a new understanding with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) regarding the integration of Al-Hasakah and the SDF’s military and security institutions. Crucially, a four-day ceasefire has been agreed upon, allowing the SDF time to develop a detailed plan for this integration.
The immediate trigger for this agreement stems from heightened tensions in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo. Damascus and the SDF had exchanged accusations of violating previous security understandings reached on January 7th. These accusations were accompanied by exchanges of fire that resulted in civilian casualties and the displacement of thousands, despite the Syrian government establishing safe evacuation routes.
Fighting that lasted approximately five days culminated on January 11th with the SDF’s complete withdrawal from the two neighborhoods, retreating to areas under their control in northeastern Syria, particularly the Deir Hafer region. The Syrian government accused SDF fighters of using Deir Hafer as a base to target Aleppo, a situation deemed unacceptable by Damascus.
The question now is how events unfolded leading to today’s agreement, especially given the SDF’s previous reluctance to fully implement the March 10th agreement. On January 16th, Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the SDF, announced the withdrawal of his forces from current front lines east of Aleppo, starting at 7:00 AM the following day, redeploying them to areas east of the Euphrates River. The Syrian Ministry of Defense welcomed this move.
Abdi stated that the withdrawal was in response to calls from mediators and countries he described as “friendly,” and aimed to demonstrate good faith in implementing the March 10th agreement with the Syrian government. This decision came hours after the Syrian Army announced it had targeted SDF positions from which suicide drones had been launched towards Aleppo. The army later announced a halt to the shelling following the start of the withdrawal and the safe passage of SDF fighters.
Furthermore, this development followed a decree issued by Syrian President Ahmed al-Shareh granting Syrian citizenship to Syrian Kurds and recognizing their cultural and civil rights. The coming days will be critical in determining whether this ceasefire holds and whether meaningful progress can be made on the integration of the SDF.
