All posts tagged: Kurdish

Syria peace deal at risk as government forces and Kurdish fighters accuse each other of violations

Syria peace deal at risk as government forces and Kurdish fighters accuse each other of violations

Published by Sam Flores

Since the January 18th peace deal, Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led SDF have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. The government opened humanitarian corridors and released some prisoners, while many Kurdish families returned home. Despite this, tensions remain, with both sides accusing each other of violations, and the truce is considered fragile. Sunni families in Raqqa are also waiting for news on relatives held in government prisons. Keywords for this article Source link

Ceasefire extended with Kurdish force

Ceasefire extended with Kurdish force

Published by Sam Flores

The Iranian regime’s recent crackdown on protests in Tehran and the country’s central region featured the use of military weapons, such as automatic or semi-automatic machine guns, that were previously only deployed in the remote northwestern Kurdish areas, according to Amnesty International. For Iran’s overlooked Kurdish minority, it could mean there’s worse to come. Charlotte Hughes reports. Keywords for this article Source link

Syria Extends Ceasefire With Kurdish Forces by 15 Days

Syria Extends Ceasefire With Kurdish Forces by 15 Days

Published by Sam Flores

By Orhan Qereman and Khalil Ashawi QAMISHLI, Syria, Jan 24 (Reuters) – A four-day ceasefire ‌between ​the Syrian government and Kurdish forces, which expired ‌on Saturday night, has been extended by 15 days, both sides said, offering a respite amid ​mounting tensions. Government troops have seized swathes of northern and eastern territory in the last two weeks from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in a rapid turn ‍of events that has consolidated President Ahmed ​al-Sharaa’s rule. Sharaa’s forces were closing in on the last SDF strongholds earlier this week when he abruptly announced a ceasefire, giving them until Saturday ​night to lay down ⁠arms and come up with a plan to integrate with Syria’s army – or to resume fighting.   Earlier on Saturday, a Syrian official said the SDF had not responded to the government’s attempts to reach out, while the SDF accused the government of moving towards escalation in a “systematic manner” through military build-ups. However, about an hour before midnight, Syria’s defence ministry announced that its forces would cease military operations for a …

Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces

Published by Sam Flores

RAQQA, Syria (AP) — 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 over 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 their withdrawal from Raqqa and Deir el-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, …

The Kurdish dream of autonomy in Syria ends

The Kurdish dream of autonomy in Syria ends

Published by Sam Flores

Kneeling in prayer in Al-Naim Square, in the center of Raqqa, Ahmed Al-Omar recited prayers, his words muffled by heartbreaking sobs. On the evening of Sunday, January 18, the 35-year-old police officer returned to his hometown in northeastern Syria, 12 years after leaving it. Around him, the deafening roar of Kalashnikov gunfire celebrated the departure of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a predominantly Kurdish group. “I left Raqqa because of Daesh [the Islamic State group, IS], then because of the SDF. I left with my comrades. I buried 40 of them, all over Syria, through the course of the battles, before I was finally able to return,” the police officer said. A fighter celebrated the capture of the city of Raqqa by Syrian government forces on Al-Naim Square, Syria, on January 18, 2026. PHILÉMON BARBIER/HORS FORMAT FOR LE MONDE In the city, left to looters as Damascus’s security forces settled in, locals rejoiced. “It’s the first time we’ve raised the Syrian flag and listened to the songs of the revolution,” said Yasser Saleh. The 35-year-old …

Syria says it has reached ceasefire with U.S.-backed Kurdish militia

Syria says it has reached ceasefire with U.S.-backed Kurdish militia

Published by Sam Flores

ISTANBUL — Syria’s government said Sunday that it had signed a “ceasefire and full integration” agreement with a powerful Kurdish-led militia that controlled large swaths of territory in the country’s northeast — a critical step, if the agreement is implemented, toward unifying a fractured Syria after years of civil war and the precipitous fall of its dictatorship. Source link

Syria’s Kurdish fighters to leave Aleppo after deadly clashes

Syria’s Kurdish fighters to leave Aleppo after deadly clashes

Published by Sam Flores

Syria’s Kurdish fighters said Sunday that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw from Aleppo after days of fighting government forces in the city. Hours earlier, Syria’s military said it had finished operations in the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood with state television reporting that Kurdish fighters who surrendered were being bused to the north. Keywords for this article Source link

Syria’s Kurdish fighters agree to leave Aleppo after days of deadly clashes

Syria’s Kurdish fighters agree to leave Aleppo after days of deadly clashes

Published by Sam Flores

Syria’s Kurdish fighters said Sunday that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw from Aleppo after days of fighting government forces in the city.  Hours earlier, Syria’s military said it had finished operations in the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood with state television reporting that Kurdish fighters who surrendered were being bused to the north.  The military had already announced its seizure of Aleppo’s other Kurdish-held neighbourhood, Ashrafiyeh. Kurdish forces had controlled pockets of Syria’s second city Aleppo and operate a de facto autonomous administration across swathes of the north and northeast, much of it captured during the 14-year civil war. The latest clashes erupted after negotiations to integrate the Kurds into the country’s new government stalled. “We reached an understanding that led to a ceasefire and secured the evacuation of the martyrs, the wounded, the trapped civilians and the fighters from Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhoods to northern and eastern Syria,” the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) wrote in a statement. Syria’s official SANA news agency reported that “buses carrying the last batch of members …

Relative calm in Syria’s Aleppo as Kurdish fighters disarm | Syria’s War News

Relative calm in Syria’s Aleppo as Kurdish fighters disarm | Syria’s War News

Published by Sam Flores

The Syrian government says its forces have reasserted control over violence-hit neighbourhoods in Aleppo after dozens of fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) laid down their arms after days of intense fighting. Syria’s Ministry of Interior spokesman, Nour al-Din al-Baba, said on Saturday that government forces had taken near-complete control of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh areas, adding that operations were nearing their “final moments”. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “The Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood has almost been completely captured,” al-Baba told the Syrian News Channel. Fighting flared up on Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zaid after Syrian forces and the SDF failed to implement a March 2025 agreement to reintegrate the Kurdish forces into state institutions. Tensions spiked after the deadline for the deal passed at the end of last year, with the Kurdish fighters refusing to leave areas of Aleppo that have been under SDF control since the early days of the Syrian war, which erupted in 2011. On Saturday, dozens of fighters …