Syria’s government on January 18 declared it has entered into a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the Kurdish-led militia that controlled the northeast of the country for more than a decade to be dissolved and merged with the national military.

The announcement follows a major push by government forces. It took place after Damascus and backer Turkey expressed growing irritation at the SDF’s failure to implement an integration deal struck in March last year. The agreement was billed as vital to the attempts of the post-Assad government to establish full authority over the country torn apart by war from 2011 to December 2024.

Following the advance of government forces, the Associated Press at the weekend reported that the SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a frontline area in eastern Aleppo province.

In a video statement, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi stated that the group had accepted the agreement announced by Damascus hours earlier “to stop the bloodshed”.

“We will explain the terms of the agreement to our people in the coming days,” he said.

The agreement requires that the SDF withdraw from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces, Arab-majority and oil and gas-resourced parts of the de facto Kurdish autonomous region, known as Rojava, or the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).

On the other hand, Hassakah province – the Rojava heartland of the Kurdish – is only expected to return its civilian administration to Damascus.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was reported by Syria’s state-run news agency Sana as saying of the agreement: “It’s a victory for all Syrians of all backgrounds.

“Hopefully Syria will end its state of division and move to a state of unity and progress.”

Abdi was due to meet al-Sharaa in Damascus on December 19.

The agreement also welcomes a presidential decree that recognises Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights and addresses longstanding civil and property rights issues, including those affecting undocumented citizens.

Both the al-Sharaa administration and the SDF are allies of Washington.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, who also serves as American ambassador to Ankara, met with al-Sharaa on December 18 just as his forces were moving into Raqqa, the largest city overseen by the Kurds. Abdi reportedly took part in the meeting over the phone.

Barrack said the agreement would provide for “renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria”.

“This agreement and ceasefire represent a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division,” Barrack added in a post on X.

Also under the agreement, senior SDF military and civilian officials are to be provided with high-ranking positions in state institutions.

Other aspects of the agreement include:
• the removal of the heavy military presence in Kurdish-majority Ain al-Arab (Kobani), the city located by the Turkish border that serves as the DAANES administrative centre.

• the withdrawal of all SDF military formations to points east of the Euphrates River as a preliminary step towards redeployment.

• Safeguarding the “specificity” of Kurdish-majority areas.

•Transfer of legal and security responsibility for prisons and camps holding Islamic State detainees to the Syrian government.

• Expulsion of all non-Syrian members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from Syrian territory.