Syrian Government Announces Agreement with Syrian Democratic Forces

The Syrian government has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the further integration of their institutions and security forces.

This was reported by the state news agency SANA.

The main issues concern the future of the Al-Hasakah province in northeastern Syria.

The presidential administration said that it had been agreed to give the SDF four days for consultations to develop a detailed plan for the practical mechanism of integrating these areas.

“If an agreement is reached, Syrian troops will not enter the centers of the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli and will remain on their outskirts, after which discussions will take place on the schedule and details of the peaceful integration of the province of Hasakah, including the city of Qamishli,” SANA reported.

It was also agreed that the Syrian military would not enter Kurdish villages and that, in accordance with the agreement, no armed forces would be present in these villages except for local security forces formed from residents of the area.

The government said that Mazloum Abdi would nominate a candidate from the SDF for the position of deputy defense minister, as well as propose a candidate for the position of governor of Al-Hasakah, names for representation in the People’s Assembly, and a list of people who will be employed in Syrian state institutions.

According to the statement, both sides also agreed to integrate all SDF military and security forces into the Ministries of Defense and Interior, with discussions on the detailed mechanism of integration ongoing, while civilian institutions will be integrated into the structure of the Syrian government.

Information emerged earlier today that these negotiations had failed.

Earlier, Arab tribal militias, supported by government forces, launched a rapid offensive against the SDF in Syria.

Initially, in a swift and large-scale offensive, Syrian army forces, together with militias, captured all territories previously controlled by the SDF west of the Euphrates River. Subsequently, fighting broke out on the eastern bank as well.

The Syrian Petroleum Company later announced that army forces had taken control of oil and gas fields in the province of Deir ez-Zor, namely Al-Omar, Al-Tank, Koniko, and Al-Jafra, after SDF Kurdish forces withdrew from the area amid a nighttime offensive by tribal forces.