Syria announces 'comprehensive ceasefire' with Kurds after clashes

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was meeting Tuesday with Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi in the presence of U.S. officials, a Syrian government source told AFP, after deadly clashes overnight in Kurdish-majority districts of Aleppo city.

It is the first encounter since July between Sharaa and Abdi, head of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and comes as implementation of a March deal between the two on integrating Kurdish institutions in the country's north and northeast into the state has largely stalled.

A separate source close to the meeting, requesting anonymity, said U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack and Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, were also attending.

Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said he had agreed to a comprehensive ceasefire with Kurdish forces during a meeting Tuesday with their leader.

In a statement on X, Abu Qasra said he met Abdi in Damascus and that "we agreed on a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts, and on points for military deployment in north and northeast Syria", adding that implementation of the deal would begin immediately.