PKK/YPG to withdraw from Aleppo under new Syria government deal
Agreement marks key step toward national reintegration as Damascus moves to unify internal security and end hostilities
ALEPPO, Syria (MNTV) — The Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the YPG, People’s Protection Units, a Kurdish armed group, have reached an agreement for the group’s withdrawal from northern Aleppo province as part of a broader plan to reintegrate territories and unify state control.
Under the deal, YPG fighters will pull out from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, while local “internal security units” will be reorganized and placed under the authority of Syria’s Interior Ministry, according to Lt. Col. Mohammed Abdul Ghani, a government representative who participated in the negotiations.
“All military forces will withdraw to northeastern Syria,” Abdul Ghani told Anadolu Agency, noting that the Defense Ministry and central committees would oversee the demilitarization of the affected areas and establish mechanisms for civilian security management.
The agreement also includes provisions for releasing detainees arrested since December 2024, with efforts currently underway to compile lists of those held. Abdul Ghani added that future negotiations would expand the process to other provinces, aiming to empty all detention centers related to the conflict.
In addition to troop withdrawals, the deal stipulates the removal of barricades, the creation of joint security checkpoints, and the reintegration of local police forces under the central government’s supervision.
Signed in February by interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Ferhat Abdi Şahin (known as “Mazloum Kobani”), the agreement represents a major breakthrough following years of fragmentation and conflict after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
By the end of the year, the Syrian government is expected to assume control over border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye, as well as key airports and oil fields in the northeast.
Ankara, which has long opposed YPG’s presence along its southern border, has stated it will monitor the integration process to ensure foreign fighters are expelled and former militants are evenly dispersed across military structures.
The deal also grants Syria’s Kurdish population greater cultural rights, including the ability to teach and use the Kurdish language, while reaffirming the country’s territorial unity and rejecting any move toward federalization or division.
Türkiye, meanwhile, has pledged to continue counterterrorism operations to prevent cross-border threats emanating from northern Syria.
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