Syrian and Kurdish forces agree to extend ceasefire as threat of war looms

Ceasefire to be extended for one month to allow transfer of suspected Islamic State members from Syria to Iraq

The Syrian government and Kurdish forces agreed to extend a ceasefire on Saturday, according to Syrian diplomatic sources, temporarily staving off a looming war between the two sides in Syria’s northeast.

Diplomatic sources told Agence France-Presse the ceasefire would be extended for “a period of up to one month at most,” citing the need to facilitate the transfer of suspected members of Islamic State from Syria to Iraq.

The two sides had announced a temporary ceasefire earlier in the week, halting an offensive by the Syrian government which brought its army to the door of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The announcement quelled concerns the offensive would restart on Saturday and gave more space for diplomacy, but did not solve the root of the conflict between the two sides.

Fighting over three contested neighbourhoods in Aleppo in early January led to a sweeping government offensive which saw the SDF lose the majority of its territory in the country in a matter of days.