By Mohammad Sio
ISTANBUL (AA) – The Aleppo internal security chief carried out a field visit to the city of Ayn al-Arab on Sunday as part of preparations to implement a ceasefire and phased integration agreement between the Syrian government and the terrorist organization YPG/SDF.
Alikhbariah TV said Col. Mohammad Abdel Ghani visited Ayn al-Arab in the eastern Aleppo countryside, ahead of the planned entry of internal security forces into the city and the rollout of an agreed security deployment plan.
During the visit, a meeting was held inside Ayn al-Arab with SDF leaders, focusing on mechanisms for the entry of internal security forces, the broadcaster said.
The move is intended to bolster security and ensure the enforcement of law and order in the city, according to the report.
The visit comes as Syrian authorities prepare to begin implementing the agreements with the SDF that outline security, administrative and military steps in parts of northeastern Syria.
Syria’s Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said Friday that the agreement will take effect Monday. The newly appointed security director for Hasakah will assume his duties the same day.
Under the new agreement, Mustafa said, SDF members will be integrated “individually” into military brigades that will fall under the Defense Ministry.
On Friday, the government said it had reached a “comprehensive agreement” with the SDF that would end internal division and lay the groundwork for full integration.
The agreement outlines a ceasefire between government forces and SDF elements, along with the phased integration of their military and administrative bodies.
The accord also stipulates “the launch of an integration process for security forces in the region, the formation of a military division incorporating three brigades affiliated with the SDF, and the establishment of a brigade linked to Ayn al-Arab forces within a division subordinate to Aleppo province.”
As part of the deal, the sides agreed on “the withdrawal of military forces from contact lines and the deployment of security forces affiliated with the Syrian Interior Ministry into the city centers of Hasakah and Qamishli, with the aim of reinforcing stability.”
The Syrian Army launched an operation against the SDF on Jan. 16 in areas west of the Euphrates River. The operation later expanded east of the river with the participation of tribal forces, leading to most of the territories previously occupied by the group coming under government control.