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Syrian troops and Kurdish forces were massed connected opposing sides of beforehand lines successful bluish Syria connected Saturday (January 24, 2026), arsenic the timepiece ticked down to an evening deadline that would find whether they resume warring or laic down their arms.
Neighbouring Turkey, arsenic good arsenic immoderate officials successful Syria, said precocious connected Friday (January 23) that the deadline could beryllium extended.
Government troops person seized swathes of bluish and eastbound territory successful the past 2 weeks from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces successful a accelerated crook of events that has consolidated President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule.
Sharaa’s forces were approaching a past clump of Kurdish-held cities successful the northeast earlier this week erstwhile helium abruptly announced a ceasefire, giving the SDF until Saturday nighttime to travel up with a program to integrate with Syria’s army.
Culmination of a twelvemonth of rising tension
As the deadline approached, SDF forces besides reinforced their antiaircraft positions successful the cities of Qamishli, Hasakeh and Kobane for a imaginable fight, Kurdish information sources told Reuters.
Syrian officials and SDF sources said it was apt the Saturday (January 24, 2026) deadline would beryllium extended for respective days, perchance up to a week.
“Extending the ceasefire for a small longer whitethorn travel onto the agenda,” said Hakan Fidan, the overseas curate of Turkey, which is the strongest overseas backer of Sharaa’s authorities and sees the SDF arsenic an limb of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, oregon PKK.
The imaginable showdown successful bluish Syria is the culmination of rising tensions implicit the past year.
Sharaa, whose forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad successful precocious 2024, has vowed to bring each of Syria nether authorities power - including SDF-held areas successful the northeast.
But Kurdish authorities who person tally autonomous civilian and subject institutions determination for the past decennary person resisted joining up with Sharaa’s Islamist-led government.
After a year-end deadline for the merger passed with small progress, Syrian troops launched an violative this month.
U.S., France caution sharaa connected Kurd, sources say
They swiftly captured 2 cardinal Arab-majority provinces from the SDF, bringing cardinal lipid fields, hydroelectric dams and immoderate facilities holding Islamic State fighters and affiliated civilians nether authorities control.
The U.S. has been engaging successful shuttle diplomacy to found a lasting ceasefire and facilitate the integration of the SDF — erstwhile Washington’s main spouse successful Syria — into the authorities led by its caller U.S.-favoured ally, Sharaa.
Senior officials from the United States and France, which has besides been progressive successful talks, person urged Sharaa not to nonstop his troops into remaining Kurdish-held areas, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
They fearfulness that renewed warring could pb to wide abuses against Kurdish civilians. Government-affiliated forces killed astir 1,500 radical from the Alawite number and hundreds of Druze radical successful sectarian unit past year, including successful execution-style killings.
Amid the instability successful the northeast, the U.S. subject has been transferring hundreds of detained fighters from the Islamic State group from Syrian prisons crossed the borderline into Iraq.
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told the EU’s overseas argumentation chief, Kaja Kallas, successful a telephone telephone connected Saturday that Baghdad should not carnivore the “security and fiscal burdens” of the transportation of IS prisoners alone, the Iraqi overseas ministry said successful a statement.
Turkey’s Fidan, speaking connected broadcaster NTV precocious connected Friday, cited these transfers arsenic perchance necessitating an hold to the Saturday deadline.
