Syria, Kurds forge key security and governance pact

Shafaq News/ The Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) reached an agreement on Tuesday covering security, governance, and services in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, officials said.

Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the deal was reached between Colonel Mohammad Abdel Ghani, head of Aleppo’s Security Directorate, and the civil council of the two neighborhoods. The agreement aims to enhance security and stability in the area, the ministry said.

Bedran Çiya Kurd, the former Co-president of the AANES’s Department For External Affairs, described the agreement as "an important step toward strengthening stability and coexistence."

In a post on X, he said the deal preserves the neighborhoods’ autonomy in security, administration, and services while coordinating with relevant government institutions in Aleppo.

Under the agreement, internal security forces and their checkpoints will remain in place and operate according to a defined mechanism in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, with their role in protecting residents reinforced without interference from other armed groups, he added.

The deal, according to Çiya Kurd, also includes a prisoner exchange between the two sides and maintains the existing education system until broader decisions are made in northern and eastern Syria.

“The Syrian government in Aleppo would be responsible for any threats against the two neighborhoods, with joint efforts to mitigate risks. The agreement guarantees freedom of movement for residents within and outside the city and grants the neighborhoods full representation in the provincial council, the chamber of commerce, and other institutions, with equal support from the authorities.”

He noted that the deal is part of a broader plan to secure the return of displaced residents of Afrin, with negotiations ongoing to achieve that goal. "Afrin, as a unified political, geographical, and national entity within Rojava, will be a key issue in future talks," he said.

Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the preliminary deal included security arrangements and a prisoner swap.

The internal security forces (Asayish) in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh would be restructured and integrated into Syria’s general security forces while keeping the current personnel in place.

As part of the swap, the Syrian government would release 170 detained Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) members and return the bodies of several fighters, while the SDF would hand over 400 prisoners from armed factions and the remains of some fighters.