Syria’s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to an immediate nationwide ceasefire after government troops advanced into areas of the northeast long controlled by the SDF. The 14-point arrangement also set out a broad transfer of territory, security responsibilities and state assets to Damascus.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi confirmed that his side had accepted the agreement and would withdraw from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces. He said the decision was intended to stop further bloodshed after fighting that had intensified earlier in January. Syria’s Defence Ministry ordered combat to halt along the front lines after the deal was announced.
President Ahmad al-Sharaa signed the document in Damascus. Abdi’s signature appeared on it, although he was not present at the ceremony; al-Sharaa said bad weather had prevented the SDF commander from travelling and that a meeting was expected the next day.
Under the terms reported by AP and the BBC, the SDF was to hand administrative and military control of Raqqa and Deir el-Zour to the government. Damascus would also assume authority over border crossings, oil and gas fields, and the prisons and camps holding Islamic State suspects and their relatives.
SDF military and security personnel were to withdraw to Hassakeh province before joining the defence and interior ministries as individuals, rather than continuing as separate Kurdish formations. Civil administration in Hassakeh would return to central government control, while local personnel could be appointed to security roles in areas with distinct characteristics. Senior SDF military and civilian figures were expected to receive posts within state institutions.
The arrangement followed months of stalled efforts to implement an earlier integration deal reached in March 2025. Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities had sought to extend central control across a country still divided among armed and political forces. The SDF, backed by the United States during the campaign against Islamic State, had administered much of the northeast for more than a decade.
US envoy Tom Barrack met al-Sharaa on the day of the announcement, with Abdi reportedly joining by telephone. Barrack welcomed the agreement while acknowledging that detailed integration work remained ahead. Both Damascus and the SDF have worked with Washington, making US involvement important to implementation and to the management of Islamic State detention sites.
The announcement marked a potentially significant redistribution of power, but it did not by itself guarantee a durable end to hostilities. BBC reporting from the following day described fresh clashes and competing accusations around detention facilities, underscoring the gap between signing the ceasefire and enforcing it across contested territory.
