US Senator Lindsey Graham has cautiously welcomed the truce agreement that ended fighting between Syrian government forces and the SDF. “I’m hopeful it’s full of promise and transformative, but I have concerns and questions,” he said in a post. “Number one, was this ceasefire agreement negotiated with any regional partners other than Turkey? … Does this agreement envision Turkish soldiers on the ground in the future in this region? Finally, was there any contact or coordination with Israel before this agreement was negotiated and what input did they give, if any?”
‘Nightmare scenario’ for SDF as US support fades
Following the collapse of SDF military positions across northeast Syria, the government of President al-Sharaa is emboldened and will be less likely to compromise, an analyst says. Joe Macaron, a Middle East analyst based in Beirut, told Al Jazeera the “nightmare scenario” for SDF leaders has arrived, in which the United States stops supporting the Kurdish-led fighters directly. American support boosted the SDF’s negotiating posture with the government, he noted. Damascus also faces a “big challenge” and “it will be tested in how it can deal [with this]”. “It is not any more Idlib only or Damascus only. You have a very complicated area in Deir Az Zor where you have oilfields and [Arab] tribal leaders,” he said. Other issues remain unresolved including the future of the Druze community in Syria’s southeast, Macaron said.
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Syrian army takes control of Tishreen dam near Aleppo
Syria’s army has taken over the Tishreen dam in the eastern Aleppo countryside, one of the two main dams on the Euphrates River. Syrian forces have been redeployed to parts of Aleppo to reinforce its presence there where it is carrying out search operations in the area after taking control from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF had controlled swaths of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast, much of which it captured during the civil war and the fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group over the past decade – a war the SDF fought as the main regional ally of the United States. Millions of Kurds live across Iraq, Iran and Turkiye with about one to 1.5 million estimated to live in northeastern Syria.
Syrians want peace and prosperity to improve lives in a united Syria
Last night after the deal was struck, there were huge celebrations on the streets of the capital Damascus. There were fireworks, cars honking, and people dancing. Everyone we spoke to felt a sense of relief and cautious joy, but some were sceptical that the ceasefire will hold. During the last two weeks of deadly fighting between the Kurdish-led SDF and government troops, everyone we spoke to here in Damascus – including many Syrian Kurds – said they just wanted a peaceful resolution. Nearly everyone, after 14 years of war, just said they’re exhausted by conflict, and they want a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the north. Overall people are very happy and now they can focus on other issues such as the economy. Everyone we spoke to is worried about the economy as about 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line, and they’re hoping now there’s peace and some sort of unity in the country, they can focus on prosperity and improving their lives in a united Syria.