Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday announced a curfew early next week in two cities in the country’s northeast, ahead of the implementation of a recent deal struck with the government in Damascus.
– Damascus and Kurdish forces reached a comprehensive agreement on Friday to gradually integrate the Kurds’ military and civilian institutions into the state, after the Kurds ceded territory to advancing government forces in recent weeks.
– Mazloum Abdi, head of the SDF, has said the deal would be implemented on the ground from Monday, with both sides to pull forces back from frontline positions in parts of the northeast, and from the town of Kobane in the north.
– He said a “limited internal security force” would enter parts of Hasakeh and Qamishli but that “no military forces will enter any Kurdish city or town”.
– Kurdish security forces announced a curfew in the northeastern city of Hasakeh from 6:00 am (0300 GMT) to 6:00 pm on Monday, and in the northeast’s main Kurdish city of Qamishli on Tuesday, during the same hours.
– It said the move was “to maintain security, stability and the safety of residents”.
– The text of Friday’s deal maintains an ongoing ceasefire and introduces a “gradual integration” of the Kurdish forces and administrative institutions.
– It appeared to include some of the Kurds’ demands, such as establishing brigades of fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Kurdish-majority areas.
– The government’s push to extend its authority across the country was a blow to the Kurds.
– They had sought to preserve the de facto autonomy they exercised after seizing swathes of north and northeast Syria in battles against ISIS during Syria’s civil war, backed by a US-led coalition.
– Information Minister Hamza Mustafa told state media on Friday that the agreement included the handover of some oil fields, the Qamishli airport and border crossings to the government within 10 days.
– He said SDF fighters would be integrated on an individual basis into several brigades being formed under the army’s command.
– The United States, which has drawn close to Syria’s new authorities, recently said the purpose of its alliance with the Kurdish forces was largely over.
– Also on Sunday, the head of internal security in Aleppo province, Mohammed Abdul Ghani, told reporters he met with Kurdish forces in Kobane to discuss security matters there “and begin the deployment of interior ministry forces”, without announcing a timeframe.
– He said technical details still needed to be settled, but that the response from the Kurdish side was “positive”.