Kurdish-led SDF – Artifex.News

Syrian government announces ceasefire with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 20:46:00 +0000

Syrian government troops and local supporters gather at Al-Naeem roundabout in central Raqqa as they celebrate after taking control of the town from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Raqqa, northeastern Syria on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Syrian government on Sunday (January 18, 2026) announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade.

The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces toward the east.

The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense front line area in eastern Aleppo province.

Syria’s Defence Ministry said it ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement was announced. The SDF did not confirm the agreement, nor immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Syria’s new leaders, since toppling Bashar Assad in December 2024, have struggled to assert their full authority over the war-torn country. An agreement was reached in March that would merge the SDF with Damascus, but it didn’t gain traction as both sides accused each other of violating the deal.

Since the push, the government has largely asserted control of the Deir el-Zour and Raqqa provinces, critical areas under the SDF that include oil and gas fields, river dams along the Euphrates, and border crossings.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA showed President Ahmad al-Sharaa signing and holding the agreement. SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, who was scheduled to meet with the President in Damascus was not seen, though his signature appeared on the document. Al-Sharaa told journalists that Mr. Abdi could not travel due to bad weather and will visit Damascus on Monday (January 19) after reaching the agreement over the phone.

“It’s a victory for all Syrians of all backgrounds,” Mr. al-Sharaa told journalists in Damascus after signing the agreement. “Hopefully Syria will end its state of division and moves to a state of unity and progress.”

The two warring sides are key allies of Washington. U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack met with Mr. al-Sharaa earlier on Sunday (January 18) as government forces were sweeping into the city of Raqqa and across Deir el-Zour province. Mr. Abdi reportedly joined the meeting over the phone.

Mr. Barrack praised the agreement, saying it will lead to “renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria,” ahead of working on the details of implementing the integration.

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

The agreement includes dismantling the SDF and having its forces join Syria’s military and security forces, while senior military and civilian officials would be given high-ranking positions in state institutions.

The SDF would have to give up the Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces to the Syrian military and government, as well as its border crossings and oil and gas fields.

Hassakah Province is only expected to give its civilian administration back to Damascus, while the Kurdish-led agencies that handled prisons and sprawling camps with thousands of detained Islamic State group fighters and families would be handed over to Damascus.

There is no clear timeline on when and how the different elements of the agreement will go into effect. Mr. Al-Sharaa told journalists that it will be gradually implemented, beginning with the cessation of hostilities.

It appeared that tensions following clashes in Aleppo earlier this month had calmed after Mr. Abdi announced that his troops will withdraw east of the Euphrates River, and Mr. al-Sharaa issued a presidential decree that would strengthen Kurdish rights in the country.

However, overnight the Syrian military seized Tabqa, continuing into Raqqa province. Syrian troops reached much of Raqqa city by the time the announcement was made. Armed Arab clans in Raqqa and Deir el-Zour that largely do not support the SDF backed Damascus. By evening, the SDF lost control of large swaths of its territory and infrastructure, including dams and oil and gas fields.

An Associated Press reporter in the area said that large military convoys swept into Raqqa city and were greeted by residents. It appeared that the SDF had withdrawn.

The SDF took Tabqa from IS in 2017 as part of its military campaign to take down the Islamic State group’s so-called caliphate, which at its peak stretched across large parts of Syria and Iraq. At the height of its control, IS declared Raqqa its capital.

Published – January 19, 2026 02:16 am IST

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Kurdish forces withdraw from Syria’s largest oil field as government forces advance

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:12:00 +0000

Kurdish-led forces withdrew on Sunday (January 18, 2026) from Syria’s largest oil field, a conflict monitor said, as government troops extended their grip over swathes of territory in the country’s north and east.

The push came after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree granting the Kurds official recognition in an apparent goodwill gesture, even as his Islamist government seeks to assert its authority across Syria after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

The Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration, which controls large parts of the northeast, has said the announcement fell short, while the implementation of a deal to integrate Kurdish forces into the state has been stalled for months.

Early Sunday (January 18, 2026), the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) suddenly withdrew “from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields”, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

He said the SDF withdrawal in Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces came as “fighters from local tribes, including Arab fighters who are part of the SDF, advanced in coordination with government troops”.

The areas are now effectively controlled by government forces, the Observatory said.

Al-Omar is the country’s largest oil field, and was home to the United States’ largest base in Syria. It had been controlled by Kurdish-led forces since 2017 after the Islamic State jihadist group was pushed out.

The Kurds’ reported withdrawal from Al-Omar follows the government’s announcement that it had retaken two other oil fields, Safyan and Al-Tharwa, in Raqa province.

‘Opening the door’

The government’s push has so far captured Arab-majority areas that came under Kurdish control during the fight against IS, whose defeat in Syria was secured with the help of the U.S.-backed SDF.

Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said the return of the area’s resources to state control “means opening the door wide for reconstruction, revitalising agriculture, energy and trade”.

Government troops drove Kurdish forces from two Aleppo neighbourhoods following clashes last week, and on Saturday (January 17, 2026) captured an area east of the city, as well as Tabqa, in Raqa province, on the southwestern banks of the Euphrates.

The army also announced its control of the Euphrates Dam, adjacent to Tabqa.

The key water and energy facility includes one of Syria’s largest hydroelectric power stations.

A security source on the ground in Tabqa told AFP that security forces and the army were combing neighbourhoods after the SDF pullout.

An AFP correspondent saw armoured vehicles and tanks around the city, with security personnel patrolling the streets.

Intermittent gunfire could be heard from what one security officer said were limited clashes with the SDF.

Shops were closed, but some residents milled outside their homes, lighting fires to keep warm.

One resident, Ahmad Hussein, told AFP that people were afraid.

“We have suffered a lot, and I hope that the situation will improve with the arrival of the Syrian army,” he said.

Near the dam, an AFP photographer saw residents destroying a statue honouring a woman who fought with Kurdish forces and who was killed by IS during the battle for Raqa city.

The city was the jihadists’ main stronghold at the height of its reign across swathes of Syria from 2014 to 2019.

‘Killing must stop’

Syrian authorities accused the SDF of blowing up two key bridges across the Euphrates River in Raqa province.

The Kurdish administration accused government forces of attacking their fighters “on multiple fronts” while the army said the SDF was not fulfilling a commitment to “fully withdraw” east of the river.

The Deir Ezzor province said all public institutions were closed on Sunday (January 18, 2026) and urged people to stay home.

The Kurdish forces’ withdrawal came after U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi in Erbil on Saturday (January 17, 2026), and the U.S. Central Command urged government forces “to cease any offensive actions” between Aleppo and Tabqa.

The United States has long supported the Kurdish forces, but it has also backed Syria’s new Islamist authorities.

Damascus ally Turkey has praised Syria’s operation, but imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, “sees this situation (in Syria) as an attempt to sabotage” the unfolding peace process between his group and the Turkish state, a delegation said after visiting him on Saturday (January 17, 2026).

In Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in the country’s northeast, hundreds of residents demonstrated on Sunday (January 18, 2026), an AFP correspondent said, chanting slogans including “we will defend our heroes”.

Muhayeddine Hassan, 48, said that “we want a democracy that represents all Syrians”.

If Sharaa “wants equality… the killing must stop”, he said.

Published – January 18, 2026 06:42 pm IST

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