2026 northeastern Syria offensive

On 13 January 2026, the Syrian transitional government launched an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the territories of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES). Initially focused on eastern Aleppo, around the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskanah, the offensive expanded on 17 January to the governorates of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Al-Hasakah.

On 18 January, the Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa unilaterally announced a 14-point ceasefire agreement with the SDF, negotiated through the US envoy Tom Barrack, under which the SDF is set to be integrated into the Syrian government, and the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor immediately handed over to the government, together with the administration of prisoner-of-war camps for Islamic State members, all border crossings and oil fields. The SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the agreement later that day, saying that he would visit Damascus to discuss the deal. Clashes persisted the next day, with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire. Media outlets reported that the meeting between Abdi and al-Sharaa had gone poorly, with no agreement being reached.

On 20 January, the Syrian government announced a ceasefire, starting at 20:00 local time. The Syrian army would not enter the city centres of al-Hasakah and Qamishli or Kurdish villages. Sharaa granted the SDF four days to work out an integration plan. On 24 January, after initial disclaimers, the Syrian government declared a 15-day extension of the ceasefire, effective from 23:00 local time, to support the US operation to transfer Islamic State detainees from SDF prisons to Iraq. On 30 January, the government announced that it had reached a comprehensive agreement with the SDF, which includes a ceasefire, gradual military and administrative integration, and the deployment of Interior Ministry forces in al-Hasakah and Qamishli.

On 20 August, during the centenary celebrations of the city of Qamishli, SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi declared that the integration of the military, security, and administrative institutions into the Syrian state had been completed and that non-Syrian fighters affiliated with the SDF had withdrawn. However, other media reported that Abdi stopped short of announcing the SDF's dissolution and that issues such as the integration of the Women's Protection Units remained unresolved. Alongside this, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) was fully integrated into the Syrian state following the January 2026 northeastern Syria offensive by government forces, which led to up to 80% of the DAANES's territory being captured and subsequently ceded to the Syrian government as part of an integration agreement; the integration agreement culminated in the assimilation of DAANES into the Syrian transitional government.

On 25 August, Abdi announced the complete dissolution of the SDF as part of the integration plan.