Anxiety, anger, and hope in Syria's Damascus after SDF ceasefire

"Damascus had breathed a sigh of relief when a ceasefire between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was announced on the night of January 18. Fireworks lit up the sky, car horns blared and Syrians gathered in Umayyad Square to dance in jubilation. The hope was that the conflict that flared up in the past few weeks in northern Syria was now over, and that the country had resolved one of the major issues still dividing it."

"It's a beautiful feeling, and I am sure it exists in every Syrian we wish for all of Syria to be united, said one Damascus resident, Saria Shammiri. Yet the celebration was short-lived. Fighting resumed the next morning as the government's lightning push forced SDF leader Mazloum Abdi to accept less favourable terms: a withdrawal from Raqqa and Deir Az Zor, in northeastern Syria, further east towards Hasakah, a new ceasefire, and a four-day ultimatum for the SDF to fully integrate into state structures."

"The terrorist SDF doesn't belong to this land they are not Kurdish. They are occupiers, said Maamoun Ramadan, a 75-year-old Syrian Kurd living in Damascus. For many here, the SDF is no longer seen primarily as a force that fought ISIL (ISIS) at the height of Syria's war, but as an actor that entrenched a parallel authority backed by foreign powers, such as the United States, keeping large parts of the country beyond the central government's reach."

A ceasefire between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prompted public celebration across Damascus. Fighting resumed the next day after a government advance forced SDF concessions including withdrawals, a new ceasefire and a four-day ultimatum to integrate into state structures. Frustration toward the SDF has hardened after prolonged division, with critics calling the group occupiers and accusing it of entrenching a parallel authority backed by foreign powers. Tensions center on control of territory, oil and agricultural resources and whether integration can deliver genuine reunification and lasting stability.

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