Curfews in Hasakah and Qamishli as New Deal Begins

Kurdish security forces announced on Sunday that curfews will be imposed in the northeastern Syrian cities of Hasakah and Qamishli, coinciding with the start of implementing an agreement reached with Damascus to integrate the institutions of the Kurdish autonomous administration into the Syrian state.

On Friday, Syrian authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached a “comprehensive” agreement to merge the civil and military institutions of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration into state structures. The deal follows weeks of clashes between the two sides, after which Damascus regained control over large areas in northern and eastern Syria.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said the agreement would begin to be implemented on the ground from Monday. Under the deal, SDF forces and government troops will withdraw from former frontlines in northeastern Syria and the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), while a “limited security force” will enter Hasakah and Qamishli.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Kurdish security forces said a curfew will be enforced in Hasakah on Monday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time. A similar measure will be imposed in Qamishli on Tuesday. The move, they said, aims to “maintain security and stability and ensure the safety of residents.”

A Kurdish security source told Agence France-Presse that the head of internal security in Hasakah, Marwan Al-Ali, visited the headquarters of the Kurdish security forces (Asayish) in Qamishli on Sunday.

The agreement includes the withdrawal of military forces from contact lines and the entry of Interior Ministry security forces into the centers of Hasakah and Qamishli. It also provides for the gradual integration of Kurdish military forces and administrative institutions into the Syrian state, including the formation of Kurdish brigades within the Syrian army.

Information Minister Hamza Al-Mustafa said on Friday that military integration would be carried out on an individual basis, with SDF members assigned to three newly formed brigades within the army structure. He stressed that these brigades would operate under direct army command, without any special status or organizational independence.

Al-Mustafa added that the agreement includes the handover of the Rumeilan and Al-Suwaydiyah oil fields, Qamishli Airport, and all border crossings within a period not exceeding ten days. He also said the security director of Hasakah province will begin his duties starting next week.

Separately, the head of internal security in Aleppo province, Colonel Mohammed Abdul Ghani, said he met Kurdish internal security forces in Ain al-Arab to coordinate arrangements and begin the entry of Interior Ministry forces, without specifying a timeline. He noted that implementation depends on “some technical details” and described the Kurdish side’s response as positive.