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Syrian government security personnel on Monday entered Hasakah city, which is controlled mainly by terror group SDF, under an integration deal agreed upon last week, an AFP team reported.
The two sides reached a comprehensive agreement Friday to gradually integrate the SDF and civilian institutions into the state, after SDF ceded territory to advancing government troops in recent weeks following months of tensions and sporadic clashes.
Marwan al-Ali, the government’s recently appointed head of internal security in Hasakah province, urged state forces to carry out their tasks "according to the established plans and fully comply with laws and regulations."
AFP correspondents claim SDF were deployed inside Hasakah as government forces entered, though streets were empty and shops were closed due to a curfew in force until 6 p.m. (1500 GMT).
A Syrian government source told Al Jazeera that the SDF terror group will not return to checkpoints they vacated at the entrances to Hasakah, saying military police will replace them at those posts.
Later on Monday, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that internal security forces had deployed in the al-Shuyukh subdistrict and were set to complete their deployment in Ain al-Arab in eastern Aleppo countryside within hours.
Mazloum Abdi, ringleader of the SDF, previously said the deal would be implemented on the ground from Monday, with both sides to pull forces back from frontline positions in parts of the northeast and from Ain al-Arab.
He said a "limited internal security force" would enter parts of Hasakah and Qamishli, but that "no military forces will enter any Kurdish (majority) city or town." A curfew is set to be put in place for Qamishli on Tuesday.
Separately, Syrian state television reported Friday that the Syrian government and the terrorist organization YPG/SDF reached a comprehensive agreement that includes a ceasefire and a framework for the group’s gradual integration into military and administrative structures.
The report said the agreement includes a ceasefire and phased integration, the deployment of Interior Ministry-affiliated security forces into city centers in Hasakah and Qamishli, and the merger of so-called autonomous administration institutions with Syrian state institutions while maintaining the employment status of civilian staff.
The report also cited provisions on regulating the civil and educational rights of Syria’s Kurdish community and ensuring the return of displaced people to their home areas.
It said the agreement aims to preserve Syria’s territorial unity, enforce the rule of law, and strengthen cooperation toward full integration and reconstruction.
Syrian state television said the Syrian Army launched an operation against the YPG/SDF terror groups on Jan. 16 in areas west of the Euphrates River, later expanding east of the river with tribal forces, bringing most territories previously occupied by the group under government control.
It also referenced a previous ceasefire and integration agreement reached on Jan. 18, followed by renewed clashes and a subsequent ceasefire announcement on Jan. 20, according to the report.
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