Clashes reported after Syria and Kurdish-led forces agree ceasefire

Syria's army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia alliance have reported fresh clashes in the country's north-east, a day after a ceasefire deal brought much of the autonomous region under government control.

The 14-point agreement signed on Sunday, which will see the SDF withdraw from Raqqa and Deir al-Zour provinces and then be integrated into state institutions, was supposed to end almost two weeks of fighting.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he hoped it would allow Syria to "end its state of division and move to a state of unity and progress".

SDF commander Mazlum Abdi said the fighting had been "imposed on us" and that he had accepted the deal "to stop the bloodshed".

Abdi added that he would explain the terms after returning from Damascus, where he was expected to fly on Monday for talks on implementation.

It appears to be a major blow for the SDF, which had been reluctant to give up the autonomy it won for Syria's Kurdish minority when helping US-led forces defeat the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) during the country's 13-year civil war.

Sharaa has vowed to reunify Syria since he led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, but the country remains deeply divided and has been rocked by several waves of deadly sectarian violence.

On Monday, the Syrian army said three soldiers had been killed in two attacks by "terrorist groups" in the north-eastern Jazira region, state news agency Sana reported.

The army alleged that members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for decades and has a long-running association with the SDF, and "remnants of the former regime" were "attempting to disrupt the implementation of the ceasefire agreement".

The SDF meanwhile accused government forces of continuing to attack its forces in the Ain Issa, Shaddadi and Raqqa areas.

It also reported clashes in the vicinity of a prison in Raqqa where IS fighters were detained. The SDF warned this could lead to "serious security repercussions that threaten stability and open the door to a return of chaos and terrorism".

Earlier, the Syrian interior ministry said its forces had begun deploying to Deir al-Zour province, which was previously controlled by the SDF.

Sana cited the ministry as saying the deployment was "part of a broader security plan aimed at protecting civilians and property while stabilising the region".

Dozens of military vehicles were seen crossing a bridge to the eastern bank of the River Euphrates along with cars, lorries and motorcycles.

Safia Keddo, a 49-year-old teacher who was making her way on foot, told AFP news agency: "The past few years have been very difficult... Today we must turn the page".

"We want children to return to school without fear, and for electricity, water, and bread to be restored. We're not asking for a miracle; we just want stability and a normal life."

On Sunday evening, the government and SDF agreed an immediate ceasefire on all fronts across the country, which the president hailed as a "victory for all Syrians".

"The Syrian state is unified and centralised in decision-making, and its institutions will enter all Syrian territories and manage all regional affairs," Sharaa told a news conference, according to Sana. "In areas with special characteristics, security personnel will be appointed from local residents."

He also urged Arab tribes living in Raqqa and Deir al-Zour to "maintain calm and allow the implementation of the agreement".

Before he left for Damascus, the SDF's commander said it had accepted a ceasefire agreement following an "intense war" in which many of its fighters had been killed or wounded since 6 January.

"This war was imposed on us. We wanted to prevent it, but unfortunately, because it was planned by many forces, it was imposed on us," Abdi said in a statement on Kurdish TV.

According to Sana, the deal stipulates that the SDF will immediately hand over administrative and military control of Deir al-Zour and Raqqa provinces to the government, including all civilian institutions and facilities.

It says the government will take control of all border crossings, oil and gas fields, and prisons and camps where captured IS fighters and their family members and other affiliated civilians are detained.

It also says that the SDF's military and security forces will withdraw to Hassakeh province, where they will be fully integrated into the ministries of defence and interior "on an 'individual' basis" - not as separate Kurdish units, as the SDF had demanded.

The agreement also welcomes a decree issued by the president on Friday which recognised Syrian Kurds as an "integral and original" component of the Syrian people.

The decree affirmed their cultural, linguistic and civil rights, including designating Kurdish as a national language, which will allow its teaching at schools in Kurdish-majority areas, granting Syrian nationality to stateless Kurds, and declaring the Nowruz spring festival as a paid national holiday.

The agreement also commits the SDF to expelling all non-Syrian members of the PKK and reaffirms Syria's participation in the US-led coalition against IS.

US special envoy Tom Barrack said the deal represented "a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division".

"The challenging work of finalising the details of a comprehensive integration agreement begins now, and the United States stands firmly behind this process at every stage - as we safeguard our vital national security interests in defeating [IS] remnants and advance President Trump's bold Middle East Peace Plan," he added.

The agreement followed months of stalled negotiations over a March 2025 integration deal, which both sides had accused each other of trying to derail.

Sharaa said last week it was unacceptable for a militia to control a quarter of the country and hold its main oil and commodities resources.