QAMISHLI, Syria: Syrian troops and Kurdish forces were massed on opposing sides of front lines in northern Syria on Saturday, as the clock ticked down to an evening deadline that would determine whether they resume fighting or lay down their arms.
Neighboring Turkiye, as well as some officials in Syria, said late on Friday that the deadline could be extended.
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 approaching a last cluster of Kurdish-held cities in the northeast earlier this week when he abruptly announced a ceasefire, giving the SDF until Saturday night to come up with a plan to integrate with Syria’s army.
Culmination of a year of rising tensions
