DAMASCUS: Syria's central government has reached a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main U.S.-backed force there into the Syrian army.
The deal was signed Monday by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The deal marks a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government led by the group that led the ousting of President Bashar Assad in December.
The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey in the northeast, airports and oil fields under the control of the central government.
Syria’s Kurds will gain their rights including teaching and using their language, which were banned for decades under Assad.