Ahmed al-Sharaa

Over the last decade, the SDF worked with the US and defeated ISIS in Syria. However, now the SDF is facing major setbacks, and Kurds fear they may be massacred.

Ahmed al-Sharaa has proven to be an adept player of geopolitical chess. Now he will be tested on his ability to win the peace in Syria.

In a phone call, Trump and Syrian President al-Sharaa discussed preserving Kurdish rights in Syria and ongoing cooperation to combat the Islamic State, following a recent integration deal.

Turkey’s President Erdogan spoke with Syrian President Sharaa after a deal with Kurdish forces, as SDF leader Mazloum Abdi confirmed a military withdrawal, and plans to visit Damascus.

Syrian state media reported that Damascus and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces reached an immediate ceasefire after days of clashes in Kurdish-held areas of the northeast.

The head of the YPG warned that only the US or its coalition partners can halt Syria’s advance into Kurdish-held territory, as government forces seize key towns and energy sites.

Overnight on January 17 and 18, there were major changes on the ground as Arab tribal fighters claimed to seize control of a number of villages and two oil fields on the East side of the Euphrates.

The decree, which includes eight articles, established that “Syrian Kurdish citizens are an essential and integral part of the Syrian people."

Sectarian violence has plagued Syria long before Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which splintered from al-Qaeda, took control of the country last year.

Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa “affirmed that the injustices witnessed in Syria during the decades of the deposed regime’s rule affected all segments of the Syrian population without exception.”