Syrian government forces tightened their hold over a wide stretch of northern and eastern Syria after heavy clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), followed by a ceasefire agreement. The developments mark a major change on Syria’s control map and come as President Ahmed al-Sharaa was expected to meet SDF chief Mazloum Abdi in Damascus on Monday.
According to Reuters, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw from two Arab-majority provinces it had controlled for years, including oil fields, after days of fighting with government forces. Reuters also reported that by Monday, Syrian government troops were consolidating their position across territory that Kurdish forces had abruptly abandoned the day before.
Ceasefire and planned Damascus meeting
Syrian government forces were consolidating near control after routing the SDF on the battlefield and signing a ceasefire. The same coverage said al-Sharaa planned to meet Mazloum Abdi—also referred to as Mazloum Kobani—in Damascus on Monday, after Abdi was unable to attend a discussion the previous day because of weather conditions.
An analysis described the fighting as the deadliest clashes yet between the post-Assad interim government led by al-Sharaa and the SDF. It also said the government and the SDF agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all fronts.
Fighting in Aleppo and eastward advances
The clashes included five days of fighting in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighbourhoods, which reportedly killed at least 24 civilians and displaced 150,000 people. Government forces later advanced east and declared all areas still controlled by the SDF west of the Euphrates River a “closed military zone.”
Over the weekend, government forces captured the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskanah east of Aleppo. The same analysis said that on Sunday government forces pushed into Tabqa, advanced into SDF-held Arab-majority regions of Deir az-Zour and Raqqa, and seized the Omar oilfield, described as Syria’s largest.
Dispute over SDF integration
An earlier integration agreement—co-signed by al-Sharaa and SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi—had included a deadline at the end of 2025, and the Aleppo crisis followed that deadline expiring. A newer agreement introduced on Sunday again called for the SDF’s complete integration into the Syrian government and military.
Damascus and the SDF previously disagreed over how integration would work, with the government insisting the SDF disband and join as individuals, while the SDF wanted to join as units. The newer agreement reiterated the government’s demand that the SDF join on an “individual” basis.
Reuters similarly tied the shift on the ground to stalled negotiations, reporting that the balance of power had been tilting al-Sharaa’s way after months of deadlock over government demands that SDF forces merge fully with Damascus. Reuters also said the Sunday accord placed Kurdish authorities under Damascus’s rule and was followed by an SDF pullout from significant areas by Monday.
Turkey, PKK peace process, and political reactions
Turkish politicians and officials said the Syria deal—under which Kurdish forces abandoned long-held territory to the Syrian government—could remove a major obstacle and help Turkey move forward with a stalled effort to end its decades-long conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Reuters quoted AK Party spokesperson Omer Celik as saying Syrian government gains had “blocked” attempts by Kurdish groups to undermine Turkey’s peace initiative, and quoted MHP deputy leader Feti Yildiz as saying, “Conditions will improve,” adding that an obstacle appeared to have been lifted.
A separate report said jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan described the Syria clashes as an attempt to “sabotage” the peace process, according to a delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party after visiting him in prison. It also said the DEM accused Turkish authorities of “pure hypocrisy” for supporting Syria’s offensive against Kurdish fighters, while Turkey has praised Syria’s operation as fighting “terrorist organisations” and views Kurdish fighters in Syria as affiliated with the PKK.
Turkey reaffirmed support for Damascus during the clashes, and the Turkish foreign minister said he hoped the crisis would not reach a point where force was used, while also suggesting that force could become an option if problems were not solved through dialogue. The same analysis said Turkey’s military and political backing of Damascus was decisive in the central government’s fight against the SDF.
