Syrian government announces a ceasefire with Kurdish-led forces

RAQQA, Syria — The Syrian government Sunday 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 more than 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.

Hours after the government announced the deal, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi confirmed it in a video statement, saying the group had accepted the agreement, which stipulates its withdrawal from Raqqa and Deir al-Zour provinces “to stop the bloodshed.”

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

Syria’s Defense Ministry said it ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement was announced.

New government had struggled to take control

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 the Syrian government, 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 al-Zour and Raqqa provinces, crucial 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. 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 Abdi could not travel because of bad weather and would visit Damascus on Monday.

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

The two warring sides are both key allies of Washington in its fight against the militant group Islamic State. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met with Al-Sharaa earlier Sunday as government forces were sweeping into the city of Raqqa and across Deir al-Zour province. Abdi reportedly joined the meeting by phone.

Seeking dialogue and cooperation

Barrack praised the agreement, saying it will lead to “renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria,” in advance 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,” Barrack said 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 al-Zour provinces — both Arab-majority areas — to the Syrian military and government, as well as its border crossings and oil and gas fields. Hassakah province, the heartland of the Kurdish population, is 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.

Gradual implementation

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

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

Initially the withdrawal appeared to be going as planned, but then new clashes broke out and the Syrian military seized Tabqa, a town near the city of Raqqa, continuing deeper into Raqqa province.

Government forces pushed eastward because the SDF, despite saying it would withdraw east of the Euphrates by 7 a.m., did not do so, according to a senior Syrian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Armed Arab clans in Raqqa and Deir al-Zour that largely do not support the SDF backed Damascus. By Sunday 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.

Crowds in Raqqa celebrated in the streets late into the evening.

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

Alsayed and Albam write for the Associated Press. AP writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.