The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have agreed to “completely” surrender Deir Ezzor and Raqqa to the government. The agreement follows Syria’s army’s lightning advance into territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic forces to the east of Aleppo. Seperately, Arab News reports that the Syrian government also regained control of Euphrates Dam. The Euphrates Dam plays a central role in Syria’s water and energy supply.
Edit 1: The agreement covers all government institutions as well as gas and oil fields, according to the NYT.
MethAcceleration on
Unfortunate development tbh, last I heard they had reached an agreement for peaceful integration into the state and armed forces
garret126 on
I support the Arab-majority regions to be returned to Syria. But if Rojava and the SDF give up their Kurdish self-rule without even the guarantee of rights in the new constitution of the Syrian **Arab** Republic, then they really fought for 13 years of self rule for naught, only to return to rule of the Damascus centralized government that has historically ethnically cleansed/repressed them at any given chance.
So far, literally the only thing the Kurds have gotten for ‘agreeing to integrate’ is a presidential decree to recognize the Kurdish language/a holiday. This can be retracted at literally any time…
BlackCat159 on
The battles for the Aleppo neighbourhoods and Deir Hafir involved humanitarian corridors and civilian evacuations. I really hope it’s a sign of an increase in discipline and cohesion in the armed forces. The government should take care to protect the Kurdish population and prevent any reprisals or massacres like the ones that occurred in the Alawite and Druze areas.
jogarz on
The most important thing is to ensure that radical elements of the Syrian Army don’t enter Kurdish towns and villages. If this agreement achieves that, it’s worthwhile.
ilovethecreaking on
Another indicator of how feckless and confused US foreign policy has become. What did US’s Syria policy achieved since the Arab Spring apart from nearly giving the whole country to Iran and Russia, making it harder to achieve close relations with the current Syrian government, causing maybe unrepairable damage to the relations with Turkey and wasting taxpayer money by paying wages for another ghost army? It is easy to blame presidents for the state of US foreign policy but people who mostly directed these policies were a clique of underlings across various administrations who are very happy to pass the blame. Will James Jeffrey, Brett McGurk or Mike Pompeo will be held accountable for harming US interests? No, they will continue to give speeches in CSIS or some other think tank for god know how much whilst writing their next tell-all book.
hlary on
These are terms they agreed to, for those who are interested:
# **Ceasefire and Full Integration Agreement**
> **First:** An immediate and comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts and contact lines between the Syrian Government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the withdrawal of all SDF military formations to the east of the Euphrates River as a preliminary step for redeployment.
> **Second:** The full and immediate administrative and military handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governorates to the Syrian Government. This includes the transfer of all civil institutions and facilities, with the immediate issuance of decrees to permanentize current employees within the specialized ministries of the Syrian state.
> **Third:** Integrating all civilian institutions in al-Hasakah Governorate into the institutions of the Syrian state and its administrative structures.
> **Fourth:** The Syrian Government shall take control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian state, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas.
> **Fifth:** The full integration of all SDF military and security personnel into the structures of the Syrian Ministries of Defense and Interior on an “individual” basis following necessary security vetting, granting them military ranks, financial entitlements, and logistical requirements accordingly.
> **Sixth:** The leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commits to refraining from incorporating remnants of the former regime into its ranks, and to providing lists of officers from the former regime’s remnants present in areas of northeastern Syria.
> **Seventh:** The issuance of a presidential decree appointing a nominee to assume the position of Governor of al-Hasakah, as a guarantee of political participation and local representation.
> **Eighth:** The removal of heavy military presence from the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), the formation of a security force drawn from the city’s residents, and the retention of a local police force that is administratively affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Interior.
> **Ninth:** The integration of the administration responsible for the file of ISIS prisoners and camps, as well as the forces responsible for securing these facilities, with the Syrian government, so that the Syrian government assumes full legal and security responsibility for them.
> **Tenth:** The adoption of a list of candidates submitted by the SDF leadership to hold high-ranking military, security, and civil positions within the central state structure to ensure national partnership.
> **Eleventh:** Welcoming Presidential Decree No. 13 of 2026, which provides for the recognition of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights and for addressing outstanding rights-based and civil issues—including those of unregistered/ stateless person and accumulated property-rights claims from previous decades.
> **Twelfth:** The SDF commits to the removal of all non-Syrian Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leaders and members outside the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure sovereignty and regional stability.
> **Thirteenth:** The Syrian state commits to continuing the fight against terrorism (ISIS) as an active member of the International Coalition, in coordination with the United States, to ensure the security and stability of the region.
> **Fourteenth:** Working toward understandings concerning the safe and dignified return of the residents of the Afrin and Sheikh Maqsoud areas to their homes.
John_Maynard_Gains on
It’s incredible how shallow the SDF project was revealed to be and how quickly the whole house of cards came crumbling down. They seem to have placed all their cards on an permanent frozen conflict where Arab loyalties and American support would remain with them for no reason other than they’re not ISIS or Assad. They had a decade to build genuine ties with the population living under them and never did so, having made no consideration that Assad might one day be replaced by a normal government and their entire value proposition would go out the window.
When Assad fell they still held enormous leverage to negotiate their place in a new Syria but they squandered the opportunity and ended up revealing how fragile their hand was. Apparently a US official told the SDF after the Aleppo operation: “you are always agreeing to yesterday’s deal”.
I won’t say the government is entirely blameless, they should have enshrined minority rights in the constitution from the beginning and been more active on engaging minorities in the early days. They should never have allowed the massacres in Suweida after having already experienced what happened in the coast. Yet ultimately it was the hubris of the SDF which was their undoing.
8 Comments
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have agreed to “completely” surrender Deir Ezzor and Raqqa to the government. The agreement follows Syria’s army’s lightning advance into territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic forces to the east of Aleppo. Seperately, Arab News reports that the Syrian government also regained control of Euphrates Dam. The Euphrates Dam plays a central role in Syria’s water and energy supply.
Edit 1: The agreement covers all government institutions as well as gas and oil fields, according to the NYT.
Unfortunate development tbh, last I heard they had reached an agreement for peaceful integration into the state and armed forces
I support the Arab-majority regions to be returned to Syria. But if Rojava and the SDF give up their Kurdish self-rule without even the guarantee of rights in the new constitution of the Syrian **Arab** Republic, then they really fought for 13 years of self rule for naught, only to return to rule of the Damascus centralized government that has historically ethnically cleansed/repressed them at any given chance.
So far, literally the only thing the Kurds have gotten for ‘agreeing to integrate’ is a presidential decree to recognize the Kurdish language/a holiday. This can be retracted at literally any time…
The battles for the Aleppo neighbourhoods and Deir Hafir involved humanitarian corridors and civilian evacuations. I really hope it’s a sign of an increase in discipline and cohesion in the armed forces. The government should take care to protect the Kurdish population and prevent any reprisals or massacres like the ones that occurred in the Alawite and Druze areas.
The most important thing is to ensure that radical elements of the Syrian Army don’t enter Kurdish towns and villages. If this agreement achieves that, it’s worthwhile.
Another indicator of how feckless and confused US foreign policy has become. What did US’s Syria policy achieved since the Arab Spring apart from nearly giving the whole country to Iran and Russia, making it harder to achieve close relations with the current Syrian government, causing maybe unrepairable damage to the relations with Turkey and wasting taxpayer money by paying wages for another ghost army? It is easy to blame presidents for the state of US foreign policy but people who mostly directed these policies were a clique of underlings across various administrations who are very happy to pass the blame. Will James Jeffrey, Brett McGurk or Mike Pompeo will be held accountable for harming US interests? No, they will continue to give speeches in CSIS or some other think tank for god know how much whilst writing their next tell-all book.
These are terms they agreed to, for those who are interested:
# **Ceasefire and Full Integration Agreement**
> **First:** An immediate and comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts and contact lines between the Syrian Government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the withdrawal of all SDF military formations to the east of the Euphrates River as a preliminary step for redeployment.
> **Second:** The full and immediate administrative and military handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governorates to the Syrian Government. This includes the transfer of all civil institutions and facilities, with the immediate issuance of decrees to permanentize current employees within the specialized ministries of the Syrian state.
> **Third:** Integrating all civilian institutions in al-Hasakah Governorate into the institutions of the Syrian state and its administrative structures.
> **Fourth:** The Syrian Government shall take control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian state, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas.
> **Fifth:** The full integration of all SDF military and security personnel into the structures of the Syrian Ministries of Defense and Interior on an “individual” basis following necessary security vetting, granting them military ranks, financial entitlements, and logistical requirements accordingly.
> **Sixth:** The leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commits to refraining from incorporating remnants of the former regime into its ranks, and to providing lists of officers from the former regime’s remnants present in areas of northeastern Syria.
> **Seventh:** The issuance of a presidential decree appointing a nominee to assume the position of Governor of al-Hasakah, as a guarantee of political participation and local representation.
> **Eighth:** The removal of heavy military presence from the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), the formation of a security force drawn from the city’s residents, and the retention of a local police force that is administratively affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Interior.
> **Ninth:** The integration of the administration responsible for the file of ISIS prisoners and camps, as well as the forces responsible for securing these facilities, with the Syrian government, so that the Syrian government assumes full legal and security responsibility for them.
> **Tenth:** The adoption of a list of candidates submitted by the SDF leadership to hold high-ranking military, security, and civil positions within the central state structure to ensure national partnership.
> **Eleventh:** Welcoming Presidential Decree No. 13 of 2026, which provides for the recognition of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights and for addressing outstanding rights-based and civil issues—including those of unregistered/ stateless person and accumulated property-rights claims from previous decades.
> **Twelfth:** The SDF commits to the removal of all non-Syrian Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leaders and members outside the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure sovereignty and regional stability.
> **Thirteenth:** The Syrian state commits to continuing the fight against terrorism (ISIS) as an active member of the International Coalition, in coordination with the United States, to ensure the security and stability of the region.
> **Fourteenth:** Working toward understandings concerning the safe and dignified return of the residents of the Afrin and Sheikh Maqsoud areas to their homes.
It’s incredible how shallow the SDF project was revealed to be and how quickly the whole house of cards came crumbling down. They seem to have placed all their cards on an permanent frozen conflict where Arab loyalties and American support would remain with them for no reason other than they’re not ISIS or Assad. They had a decade to build genuine ties with the population living under them and never did so, having made no consideration that Assad might one day be replaced by a normal government and their entire value proposition would go out the window.
When Assad fell they still held enormous leverage to negotiate their place in a new Syria but they squandered the opportunity and ended up revealing how fragile their hand was. Apparently a US official told the SDF after the Aleppo operation: “you are always agreeing to yesterday’s deal”.
I won’t say the government is entirely blameless, they should have enshrined minority rights in the constitution from the beginning and been more active on engaging minorities in the early days. They should never have allowed the massacres in Suweida after having already experienced what happened in the coast. Yet ultimately it was the hubris of the SDF which was their undoing.