Syria's Kurdish-led forces announce withdrawal to advance integration talks

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that its forces would withdraw from current contact lines with government forces east of Aleppo to advance military integration talks with the authorities.

In a post on social media platform X, SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi said the withdrawal -- scheduled for 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Saturday -- comes in response to calls from "friendly countries and mediators" and is a "goodwill gesture" toward completing the integration process outlined in an agreement reached in March of last year.

Abdi added that his forces would reposition east of the Euphrates River.

The announcement follows two days of intensified clashes and shelling in eastern Aleppo countryside, including areas around Deir Hafer and Maskanah, which Syrian authorities had declared closed military zones.

The March agreement, brokered under international mediation, aims to integrate SDF-controlled forces and institutions into the Syrian state framework. Yet its implementation has been repeatedly stalled amid mutual accusations of violations and renewed violence.

Syrian officials have not yet issued a response to the SDF announcement.