DAMASCUS: Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday rejected reports claiming it had extended a deadline for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces regarding the future of Hasakah province, describing them as baseless.
Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad, director of Arab Affairs at the ministry, said the SDF repeatedly sought truces and deadlines to gain time without clear objectives and spread rumors of extensions to embarrass the state.
He said the SDF had so far not responded positively to government proposals and had consistently violated ceasefires, adding that the Syrian government had offered senior positions to the SDF, but no candidates had been nominated.
Earlier, AFP, citing several sources, reported that the Syrian government and Kurdish forces had agreed to extend the ceasefire set to expire Saturday, as part of a broader deal on the future of Kurdish-majority areas.
On Tuesday, Damascus and the SDF agreed to a four-day ceasefire after Kurdish forces relinquished swathes of territory to government forces, which also sent reinforcements to a Kurdish stronghold in the northeast.
A diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP the truce would be extended “for a period of up to one month at most.”
Syria’s presidency announced on Jan. 20 that it had reached a shared understanding with the SDF on a number of issues related to the future of Al-Hasakah province in northeast Syria.
The presidency said it was agreed to grant the SDF four days for consultations in order to develop a detailed plan for the practical mechanism of integrating the areas.
Syria’s Ministry of Defense also announced a ceasefire in all sectors of the Syrian army’s operations for four days.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Daesh detainees were being transferred from Syria to Iraq on Saturday, the second batch since the US announced plans to relocate the terrorists there.
“The prisoner transfer operation is ongoing, with US forces transporting detainees by land and air,” an Iraqi security official said, adding that “up to 1,000 Daesh detainees are expected to arrive in Iraq today.” Another security source confirmed the transfer was underway, saying the detainees — who include Iraqis and Europeans — will be distributed among at least three prisons in Iraq.
