Syrian security convoy enters key Kurdish city under US-backed deal

QAMISHLI, (Syria): Syrian government security forces entered the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Tuesday, security sources and witnesses said, implementing a US-backed deal to bring Kurdish-run regions back under central government control.

The accord, declared on Friday, staved off the risk of more conflict between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which lost swathes of eastern and northern Syria to government troops in January.

Reuters journalists said the convoy headed straight to a security zone inside Qamishli for talks with senior Kurdish officials at the de facto political centre of the Kurdish-led administration that took shape during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

The government forces are expected to be stationed in several Syrian state buildings in Qamishli and also at the city’s airport, a Syrian official and a Kurdish security source told Reuters ahead of the deployment.

On Tuesday, Interior Ministry vehicles entered the city of Hasakah, about 80 km (47 miles) south of Qamishli.

The January 30 accord foresees a phased integration of Kurdish fighters with Damascus forces. The US has hailed the agreement as a milestone towards unity and reconciliation after the war that fractured the country into rebel fiefdoms.