By Laith Al-jnaidi
DAMASCUS (AA) - Syria’s Army Operations Command said Tuesday that the army has begun withdrawing from the outskirts of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, with internal security forces deploying in implementation of an agreement with the terror group YPG/SDF.
The Operations Command said army units had started pulling back from areas surrounding Hasakah under the agreement reached between the Syrian state and the SDF, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
It added that internal security forces have deployed in the areas from which the Syrian Army withdrew.
The command added that the SDF is adhering to the agreement and has taken “positive steps,” noting that authorities are “monitoring and assessing the situation to determine the next step.”
Last Tuesday, Syrian security forces entered the city of Qamishli under a “comprehensive agreement,” which includes a ceasefire and a phased integration deal with the SDF that was reached in late January to end the state of division in the country and lay the groundwork for a new phase of full integration.
On Jan. 16, President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a decree affirming that Syrian Kurds are an integral part of the Syrian people, and their cultural and linguistic identity forms a core component of the country’s unified national identity.
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.
*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul