Syrian Government And SDF Agreed To Extend Ceasefire By Another 15 Days.

Damascus; January 2026: Yesterday on January 24th 2026, the Syrian Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to extend their ceasefire in northeastern Syria for another 15 days. Syrian President Ahmed al Shara likely decided to temporarily halt the Syrian government offensive on SDF-held territory in northeastern Syria after a phone call with US President Donald Trump on January 19th.

The continued ceasefire will help ensure that the government offensive does not inflict lasting harm on US counter-Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) objectives in northeastern Syria because it will create stable conditions for Syrian government forces to deploy to and secure ISIS detention facilities.

The ceasefire will also enable US forces to continue to transfer ISIS detainees from Syria. The United States may transfer up to 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). However, a successful transfer of all or most of the ISIS detainees will take several additional days, if not weeks, to complete.

The continued preparations risk causing a resumption of intense but possibly slower moving and more deadly fighting in Kobani, Hasakah City, and eventually Qamishli. It was previously assessed that the SDF could use the four-day ceasefire to reorganise itself and prepare its hardened, ideological Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) to defend Kurdish villages and cities against future government attacks.

SDF units largely retreated from Arab-majority areas in the initial days of the offensive, leading to rapid Syrian government advances and relatively few casualties. The buildup of each side’s forces and the fact that fighting has moved to the Kurdish heartland make it more likely that a ceasefire breakdown would lead to intense fighting. The SDF has set up defensive lines between Hasakah City and Qamishli, including digging trenches and mining bridges.

SDF units in Hasakah City have also been preparing to defend against a Syrian government offensive for the past several days. Kurds from outside of Syria have also joined SDF defenses in Qamishli and Hasakah. Syrian government forces continued to move toward Hasakah City on January 24th.

The SDF said two hours before the ceasefire was set to end that the Syrian government had “systematically” continued its military buildup around Kobani and Hasakah. The SDF and MOD engaged each other with one-way attack drones on contact lines southeast of Qamishli on January 24th. SDF fighters also engaged Syrian government forces with unspecified weapons south of Kobani.

Kurdish and international organisations are pushing the Syrian government to establish a humanitarian corridor in Kobani, Aleppo Province, as Syrian forces surround the city. The Kurdish National Council (ENKS) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) called on 24th January for the opening of a humanitarian corridor in Kobani to enable civilians to access aid, medical treatment, and basic necessities.

The ENKS stated that it is in contact with the Syrian government and every “party responsible” to open a corridor. The deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary General also noted on January 24 that the United Nations is in contact with Syrian authorities to deliver aid to Kobani. Civilians in Kobani have no access to electricity, water, essential food supplies, or internet. It is also uncertain, whether the SDF shelling caused electricity and water infrastructure to fail or if the government deliberately cut Kobani’s access to those resources.

The Syrian army announced on January 24 that it will open humanitarian corridors in “the coming hours,” but did not specify if this includes a corridor in Kobani. Syrian government forces have surrounded SDF fighters in Kobani since January 19, likely as the first part of a multi-stage operation to reduce SDF forces there. The pattern of events and government deployments around Kobani resembles recent government isolate-and-reduce operations against the SDF in Aleppo City and Deir Hafer, which suggests the Syrian military will employ a similar concept of operations in Kobani. This would include opening an evacuation route to enable civilians to leave Kobani before launching an assault on the city.

Any resumption of fighting between the SDF and government forces could lead to further ethnic-based violence. Council of Syrian Tribes and Clans President Sheikh Abdul Moneim al Nassaf issued a statement on January 23rd in which he called on Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen to stand united and not be drawn into “weak-willed” attempts to sow division.

There continue to be reports of SDF violence against Arab civilians in Hasakah. The Syrian army reported on January 24th that the SDF continues to carry out widespread violations, including “arrest operations, displacement, and torture”, in SDF-controlled areas. The SDF has also continued to spread evidence of MoD abuses and atrocities against Kurds.

The government has attempted to address atrocities and extrajudicial violence by creating reporting mechanisms to “redress any injustice or harm” in Deir ez Zor, Raqqa, and Hasakah provinces. A resumption of fighting could increase ethnic-based violence, particularly because Syrian President Ahmed al Shara has deployed divisions to the northeast that contain militias that have previously conducted unsanctioned attacks on minority communities, including Kurds, and destabilised Syria by doing so.

Team Maverick.