This is Beirut

Erbil Set to Host New Syria-Kurdish Talks as Ceasefire Strains in the North

This is Beirut, 22/01 16:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

A new round of negotiations between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is set to take place in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Kurdish sources cited by Al Arabiya, as efforts intensify to salvage a ceasefire and revive talks over the future of northeastern Syria. The planned meetings come just days after ...

Syrian Government, SDF Announce Four-Day Truce as SDF Pulls Guards from Al-Hol

This is Beirut, 20/01 16:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria SDF Kurds Al-Hol

The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced a four-day truce on Tuesday while SDF guards monitoring the Al-Hol camp retreated from their posts. Just before the truce, SDF personnel guarding the Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria withdrew from their posts to be redeployed to other cities in the ...

Talks Between Damascus And Kurdish-led Forces "Collapse"

This is Beirut, 20/01 12:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus Donald Trump Turkey USA Kurds SDF

Negotiations have collapsed between the Syrian president and the chief of the country's Kurdish-led forces, a Kurdish official told AFP, as the army deployed reinforcements to flashpoint areas in the north. President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, who heads the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), were meeting to discuss a ceasefire ...

Turkey Warns "Won't Tolerate Provocations" Over Syria Unrest

This is Beirut, 20/01 09:45 - Reading : less than a minute

Turkey Kurds PKK Syria

Turkey warned Tuesday it would not tolerate any "provocations" over the events in Syria as its Kurdish community called for protests over a government offensive targeting Kurdish fighters. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X that Turkey was "meticulously monitoring the developments in Syria and all movements along our ...

Syrian Army Issues Warnings Ahead of Strikes East of Aleppo

This is Beirut, 16/01 21:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Syria Aleppo Kurds

Syria's army issued warnings on Friday ahead of strikes on Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo, saying it will target the positions of Kurdish forces and urging civilians to stay away. In several warnings, the Syrian military announced it will target specified areas of Deir Hafer, which it said Kurdish forces were using "as a launching point for their ...

Syrian President Makes Kurdish a 'National Language'

This is Beirut, 16/01 21:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria al-Sharaa Kurds

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on Friday declaring Kurdish a "national language", in an apparent gesture of good will towards the minority following clashes in past days. The move came as the Syrian army warned of new strikes east of Aleppo, despite a meeting between the US-led coalition and Kurdish forces seeking to ...

Syrian Army Says Controls Aleppo District, Kurdish Forces Deny Claim

This is Beirut, 10/01 12:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria Aleppo Kurds SheikhMaqsud SDF

Syria's army said it had completed a "security sweep" on Saturday of a neighborhood in Aleppo where it clashed with Kurdish forces, who denied losing control of the area after defying calls to surrender. Government forces began striking the Sheikh Maqsud district overnight after a deadline elapsed for Kurdish fighters to withdraw during a ...

Syria Army Warns Will Strike Kurdish District of Aleppo: State Media

This is Beirut, 09/01 20:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Damascus Aleppo Kurds

Syria's army warned on Friday it would renew attacks against a Kurdish-majority district of Aleppo and urged residents to evacuate, state media reported, hours after a ceasefire was announced. The army said it would target military sites used by Kurdish fighters in the Sheikh Maqsud district, in statements published by state news agency SANA ...

Aleppo Shuts Down As Clashes Between Syrian Government And Kurdish Forces Intensify

This is Beirut, 07/01 11:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Aleppo Kurds Syria

Schools and public institutions were shut in north Syria's Aleppo on Wednesday, as sporadic clashes between government troops and Kurdish-led forces continued into their second day, according to state media. Tuesday's clashes, which killed nine people, were the worst between the two sides, who have so far failed to implement a March deal ...

Syrian Kurdish Leader in Damascus for Talks on Military Integration

This is Beirut, 04/01 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Mazloum Abdi Kurds Ahmad al-Sharaa

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said. Abdi signed a deal in March with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration into the government by the end of 2025, but ...

How Syria Can Begin Integrating the SDF

Seth J. Frantzman , 2025-12-24 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Turkey Syria SDF Kurds Ahmad al-Sharaa

Clashes erupted December 22 in Aleppo between Syrian government troops and the local Kurdish security forces (Asayish), killing at least three people and underscoring the challenges facing efforts to unify armed factions under the Syrian transitional government. Even as Damascus seeks to consolidate nationwide security and integrate armed ...

Kurds at a Crossroads as Middle East Shifts

Seth J. Frantzman , 2025-11-25 21:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Kurds Middle East Syria ISIS Iraq

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi’s November 19 trip to the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq was an important moment, underscoring that Kurdish leaders now appear to understand the importance of cooperation amid sweeping changes in the region. Abdi—a close partner of the US military in Syria who spent ...

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