Syrian Kurdish forces support sustaining ceasefire, warn of response if attacked

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said on Monday that they support the continuation of the ceasefire in northern and eastern Syria but have warned they will respond forcefully to any attacks by the Syrian Arab Army or its affiliated factions.

“We want the ceasefire to continue. But if we are attacked, we will respond in the strongest way possible,” Siyamand Ali, head of YPG’s media office, told Rudaw.

The YPG is the backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Ali claimed that armed groups aligned with Damascus have continued to violate the already fragile truce across several frontlines. The interim government has also accused the SDF of violating the ceasefire.

The US-brokered ceasefire, which was extended on Saturday for an additional 15 days, is intended to facilitate the transfer of Islamic State (ISIS) detainees from SDF-run prisons in Syria to Iraq. It follows an initial four-day truce announced last week.

Despite the agreement, SDF forces remain on high alert along all five frontlines in Hasaka province, amid sporadic attacks by Syrian Arab Army–affiliated groups during the early days of the truce.

The ceasefire comes after a large-scale offensive launched in mid-January by the Syrian Arab Army and its allied factions, targeting eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka - one of the most significant military escalations in recent months.

On a separate note, the SDF reported that since Monday morning, its factions have carried out “intense attacks” on Kharab Ashk and Jalabiya, southeast of Kobane, amid heavy artillery fire targeting residential areas.

“Our forces continue to repel the assault, with clashes ongoing in Jalabiya as the attackers deploy tanks and armored vehicles, alongside heightened Turkish drone activity,” the SDF added.

On Sunday, Syria’s defense ministry accused the SDF of attacking government forces near the Sarrin subdistrict of Kobane. Ali rejected the claim, stating that SDF forces are not operating in the area.

“Sarrin is not a conflict zone, and our forces are 15 kilometers away from the area,” he said, adding that on the western frontline of Kobane, the Damascus-backed factions attacked the villages of Zerik and Qamiya. He said as a result of the attacks, a child was killed and four others were injured.

Ali called on the international community to intervene to ensure the success of the ceasefire, warning that renewed fighting would benefit no party.

“Conflict does not serve any side, and there will be no winner,” he said, while reiterating that the SDF would “exert all efforts to repel any attack by the Damascus government in the strongest possible way.”

According to Ali, Damascus-aligned armed factions violated the ceasefire at least six times on Sunday, most of them in the Kobane area.

“The majority of the violations took place in Kobane,” he said, adding that SDF forces repelled all of the attacks.

The YPG was formed in 2011 at the outset of the Syrian uprising against then-President Bashar al-Assad, with the aim of securing Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria. Since 2015, it has served as the core military component of the SDF.

Ali also criticized the US-led Global Coalition against ISIS, accusing it of backing Syria’s transitional government.

“The coalition has failed to fulfill its moral and humanitarian responsibilities,” he said. “They are supporting a force whose past background they know very well.”

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