Syria's leader agrees truce deal with Kurds after govt troops advanceListen to this articleSyria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa signs the agreement at the Presidential Palace in Damascus on Sunday. - 'Killing must stop' -Deir Ezzor province said all public institutions were closed on Sunday and urged people to stay home. The Kurdish forces' withdrawal came after Barrack met Syrian Kurdish leader Abdi in Erbil on Saturday, and the US Central Command urged government forces "to cease any offensive actions" between Aleppo and Tabqa. The United States has long supported the Kurdish forces, but it also backs Syria's new Islamist authorities. In Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in Syria's northeast, hundreds of residents demonstrated Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, chanting slogans including "we will defend our heroes".

Source: Bangkok Post January 18, 2026 22:16 UTC