As ceasefire deadline looms, pressure on SDF to integrate with Syrian army

Syria’s foreign ministry denies government forces reached an agreement with SDF on extending the deadline.Published On 24 Jan 2026Pressure is mounting on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to fully integrate its fighters into the Syrian army as the clock ticks down on a ceasefire deal due to expire today.Syria’s foreign ministry on Saturday denied that government forces had reached an agreement with the SDF on extending the deadline of the ceasefire deal reached earlier this week.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Syrian government takes over prison with ISIL-linked detainees in Raqqalist 2 of 4Anxiety, anger, and hope in Syria’s Damascus after SDF ceasefirelist 3 of 4Israel bombs four Syria-Lebanon border crossings; kills 2 in south Lebanonlist 4 of 4US envoy meets SDF commander, calls for Syria ceasefire to be upheldend of list“There is no truth to what is being circulated regarding the extension of the deadline with the SDF,” the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted the ministry as saying.The Syrian army and the SDF agreed to a four-day ceasefire on Tuesday, after Kurdish fighters relinquished swaths of territory to government forces, which also sent reinforcements to a Kurdish stronghold in the northeast.Government troops have seized expanses of northern and eastern territory ⁠in the last two weeks from the SDF in a rapid turn of events that has consolidated President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule.Al-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.They brought key oil fields, hydroelectric dams and some facilities holding ISIL (ISIS) fighters and affiliated civilians under government control.The al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa province, which holds thousands of ISIL fighters, is now under the government’s control.Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from al-Hol, said the Syrian army had taken hold of the camp housing tens of thousands of suspected ISIL members and that no escapes had been reported.