Syria govt, Kurdish-led militia reach deal

DAMASCUS — The Syrian interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, on Monday reached an agreement on merging all civil and military institutions in the Kurdish-controlled region under state institutions, state news agency SANA reported.

The integration involves those institutions on border crossings, airports, as well as oil and gas fields, SANA reported, adding the agreement was finalized during a meeting earlier in the day between Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the SDF's top commander Mazloum Abdi.

The agreement also includes provisions to guarantee the rights of all Syrians, the official recognition of the Kurdish community as an integral part of Syria, a nationwide ceasefire, and the protection for returning displaced Syrians, SANA reported.

"The executive committees will work to fully implement the agreement by the end of this year," SANA reported, citing a joint statement by the interim government and the SDF.

The deal is a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the interim government.

The deal, to be implemented by the end of the year, would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government's control.

Syria's new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with other minority communities, notably the Druze in southern Syria.

Earlier on Monday, Syria's government announced the end of the military operation against remnants of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the civil war.

A war monitor reported hundreds of civilians were killed in Alawite villages since Thursday as government forces sought to crush what they described as an insurrection.

In a Reuters interview, Sharaa said mass killings of Alawites were a threat to his mission to unite Syria, and promised to punish those responsible, including his own allies if necessary.

Agencies - Xinhua