The Syrian army has moved into the northeastern city of Hasakah, which had been controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), marking the first phase of a United States-backed ceasefire agreement.
A large convoy of military vehicles entered the city on Monday, hours after the SDF imposed a curfew. The deployment followed an accord announced last Friday between Damascus and the SDF aimed at ending weeks of fighting that saw the Kurdish-led group lose significant territory across northeastern Syria.
The deal seeks to reinforce the ceasefire and outlines plans to absorb SDF fighters into Syria’s national army and police, while bringing civilian institutions run by the group under central government control.
Under the agreement, government troops are to stay out of Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods. However, limited Interior Ministry units will assume responsibility for state facilities in Hasakah and Qamishli, including civil registry offices, passport services and the airport.
Local Kurdish police will continue maintaining security in both cities before eventually being merged into the Interior Ministry.
Officials said the army’s entry into Hasakah took place peacefully and according to schedule.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government considers the SDF linked to Kurdish militants in Turkiye, warned against any attempts to undermine the deal.
“With these latest agreements, a new chapter has opened for the Syrian people,” Erdogan said in a televised speech. “Anyone who tries to disrupt this will be crushed.”
Friday’s agreement also provides for the creation of a military division made up of three SDF brigades, along with a separate brigade for fighters in the SDF-held town of Ain al-Arab known in Kurdish as Kobane which will operate under the Aleppo governorate.
The arrangement further calls for integrating governing bodies in SDF-controlled areas with state institutions.
Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that Interior Ministry forces also began deploying to rural areas near Kobane on Monday.
Since the removal of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad 14 months ago, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has struggled to reunify the country, with renewed violence involving the SDF and other factions complicating efforts to restore central authority.
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