Syria’s President al-Sharaa to meet SDF leader Abdi after ceasefire deal

Talks travel a truce that ended days of warring and brought Syrian Democratic Forces nether authorities control.

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa is acceptable to conscionable Mazloum Abdi, the caput of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to consolidate a ceasefire aft days of battles that saw the service and government-allied tribal forces expanse crossed the northbound of the state from Aleppo to Raqqa.

The gathering connected Monday, postponed from Sunday owed to atrocious weather, follows a melodramatic escalation that saw Syrian authorities forces retake ample swathes of territory successful the northeast, forcing the SDF to judge a truce and a wide-ranging statement that brings Kurdish civilian and subject authorities nether cardinal authorities control.

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On Sunday, Abdi, besides known arsenic Mazloum Kobani, announced his acceptance of the ceasefire declared and signed connected camera by al-Sharaa, stating successful a televised code that the struggle had been imposed connected the SDF and planned by respective parties. He said helium would outline the presumption of the statement aft returning from Damascus.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an statement successful Damascus connected January 18, 2026 [Rami al-Sayed/AFP]

Abdi said the SDF’s withdrawal from Deir Az Zor and Raqqa to Hasakah was aimed astatine preventing further bloodshed and averting civilian war.

He acknowledged that the SDF suffered dense losses, but said it would support what helium described arsenic its gains.

SDF commandant and elder People’s Protection Units fig Sipan Hamo told Reuters that the radical was not seeking separation from Syria and called for guarantees from the United States and different planetary actors. He denied receiving enactment from Iran oregon Russia but said helium hoped Israel would intervene successful favour of Syria’s Kurds.

The Syrian presidency said the ceasefire guarantees the integration of SDF fighters into authorities institutions and the deployment of authorities authorities to Raqqa, Deir Az Zor and Hasakah.

Al-Sharaa said the woody provides for the afloat integration of the SDF into the service and called connected tribal forces to let its implementation.

Asked by Al Jazeera astir the timeline for implementation and the destiny of a March statement past year, al-Sharaa said the existent woody reflects the tone of that accord.

On Sunday, al-Sharaa met US envoy Tom Barrack successful Damascus. Barrack aboriginal said the statement marked a turning point, penning connected X that it paves the mode for renewed dialog and practice towards a unified Syria.

The US, which maintains forces successful hundreds successful bluish Syria, is particularly focused connected combating immoderate resurgence of ISIL (ISIS) successful the area, pursuing a deadly attack connected US soldiers and civilian contractors successful Palmyra successful December.

The US carried retired a caller circular of “large-scale” attacks past week against ISIL successful Syria pursuing the ambush that killed 2 US soldiers and a civilian interpreter.

The Syrian Ministry of Defence announced a ceasefire connected each fronts, saying it would let harmless corridors for civilians to instrumentality location and alteration authorities institutions to resume their work.

The statement follows a two-day Syrian subject cognition that reclaimed cardinal areas successful the eastbound and northeast aft earlier understandings with the SDF collapsed.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan besides discussed the latest developments successful Syria with al-Sharaa during a telephone telephone and said Ankara would proceed to enactment Damascus.

Erdogan told al-Sharaa that “the implicit elimination of coercion from Syrian territory is indispensable for some Syria and the full region”, according to the Turkish presidency. Turkiye has agelong opposed the SDF, considering it an hold of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it considers a “terrorist” group.