QAMISHLI – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced a new agreement Friday with the country's central government intended to stabilize a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and to lay out the steps toward integration between the two sides.
Under the agreement, the SDF said, security forces affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Interior would go into the cities of al-Hassakeh and Qamishli in the Kurdish heartland, which they had previously been barred from entering, and the process of integrating SDF and government forces would begin.
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This would include the formation of a new military brigade comprising three brigades from the SDF, in addition to the formation of a brigade of SDF fighters within a government brigade in Aleppo province.
Local institutions in the Kurdish-led government of northeast Syria — which has operated as a de facto autonomous zone for years — and their employees would be integrated into state institutions.
The agreement also includes “civil and educational rights for the Kurdish people, and guaranteeing the return of the displaced to their areas,” the statement said.
“The agreement aims to unify the Syrian territories and achieve the full integration process in the region by enhancing cooperation between the concerned parties and unifying efforts to rebuild the country,” it said.
The agreement was later confirmed by the Syrian government in a statement.
The SDF lost most of its territory in northeast Syria to a government offensive after intense clashes erupted in the northern city of Aleppo on Jan. 6, following months of failed negotiations to implement an integration deal.
Syria’s new leaders, since toppling former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, have struggled to assert their full authority over the country torn by nearly 14 years of civil war. An agreement was reached in March that would merge the SDF with Damascus, but it didn’t gain traction.
Meanwhile the U.S., which had long been the main backer of the SDF as the group fought against Islamic State militants, has moved closer to Damascus under new interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The U.S. did not intervene militarily in this month's fighting but pushed the two sides to make a deal.
A truce was reached last week between the two sides and has been largely holding. Friday's announcement appears to be a step toward solidifying the ceasefire.
U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack in a statement posted on X called the new agreement a “profound and historic milestone in Syria’s journey toward national reconciliation, unity, and enduring stability.”
Barrack praised “the Kurdish people, whose extraordinary sacrifices and steadfast resilience have played a pivotal role in defending Syria against extremism and safeguarding vulnerable populations.”
He also praised a recent decree issued by al-Sharaa to strengthen the rights of the Kurdish minority in the country, including recognizing Kurdish as a national language along with Arabic and adopting the Nowruz festival, a traditional celebration of spring and renewal marked by Kurds around the region, as an official holiday.
The decree also annulled measures resulting from a 1962 census in the northeastern al-Hasakeh province that stripped tens of thousands of Kurds of their citizenship.