Star Metro - Syria's leader agrees truce deal with Kurds after govt troops advance

The agreement, which will also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state, marks a blow for the minority, which has long held ambitions of preserving the de facto autonomy they had exercised over areas they held for over a decade.

It comes after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus.

The deal follows months of stalled negotiations between authorities and the Kurds on integrating their administration and forces into the central government.

Sharaa announced the ceasefire to reporters on Sunday, saying he had been scheduled to meet the chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, but it was postponed until Monday due to poor weather.

"In order to calm the situation, we decided to sign the agreement," Sharaa said.

Government forces this weekend captured the strategic city of Tabqa in the Raqa region as well as the Euphrates Dam, and have advanced into parts of Deir Ezzor province, including the Al-Omar oil field, the country's largest. That followed advances in Aleppo province.

Clashes reached Raqa city on Sunday, with state media saying SDF gunfire killed two civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor meanwhile reported fighting between the SDF and "local Arab tribal fighters" there.

Sharaa met in Damascus on Sunday with US envoy Tom Barrack, who called the deal with the Kurds a "pivotal inflection point".

The Syrian presidency published the text of the 14-point agreement, which includes integrating the SDF and Kurdish security forces into Syria's defence and interior ministries and the immediate handover of Kurdish-run Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces to the government.

It will also see Damascus take responsibility for Islamic State group prisoners and their families held in Kurdish-run jails and camps.

Sharaa had on Friday issued a decree granting the Kurds official recognition, but the Kurds said the announcement fell short of their expectations.

On the ground, an AFP correspondent on Raqa's outskirts reported hearing gunfire on Sunday and said government forces brought reinforcements and were combing parts of the city.

- 'Opening the door' -

The SDF suddenly withdrew "from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields", Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

He said the movements in Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces came as "fighters from local tribes, including Arab fighters who are part of the SDF, advanced in coordination with government troops".

The government has also said it retook the Safyan and Al-Tharwa oil fields in Raqa province.

Its push has captured Arab-majority areas that came under Kurdish control during the fight against IS.

Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said the return of the area's resources to state control "means opening the door wide for reconstruction, revitalising agriculture, energy and trade".

The army has also announced its control of the Euphrates Dam near Tabqa, a key water and energy facility that includes one of Syria's largest hydroelectric power stations.

An AFP correspondent saw armoured vehicles and tanks around Tabqa, with security personnel patrolling the streets.

Shops were closed, but some residents milled outside their homes, lighting fires to keep warm.

Resident Ahmad Hussein told AFP that people were afraid, adding: "We have suffered a lot, and I hope that the situation will improve with the arrival of the Syrian army."

Near the dam, an AFP photographer saw residents destroying a statue honouring a woman who fought with Kurdish forces and who was killed by IS during the battle for Raqa city.

- 'Killing must stop' -

Deir Ezzor province said all public institutions were closed on Sunday and urged people to stay home.

The Kurdish forces' withdrawal came after Barrack met Syrian Kurdish leader Abdi in Erbil on Saturday, and the US Central Command urged government forces "to cease any offensive actions" between Aleppo and Tabqa.

The United States has long supported the Kurdish forces, but it also backs Syria's new Islamist authorities.

In Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in Syria's northeast, hundreds of residents demonstrated Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, chanting slogans including "we will defend our heroes".

Muhayeddine Hassan, 48, said that "we want a democracy that represents all Syrians".

If Sharaa "wants equality... the killing must stop", he said.

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F.Tremblay--SMC