UPDATE 1-Syrian state forces deploy into Kurdish-run city under ceasefire deal

Syrian government security forces deployed into a Kurdish-controlled city in the northeast on Monday under a U.S.-backed ⁠ceasefire deal that foresees the Kurdish-run regions being merged with Damascus. The deal, declared on Friday, has staved off further conflict between President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government and the Kurdish-led Syrian ​Democratic Forces, which lost swathes of eastern and northern Syria to government troops ‍in January.

Reuters journalists saw a convoy of more than 30 interior ministry vehicles begin moving towards the city of Hasakah from a position outside the city in the early afternoon. Two local sources ⁠in the ‌city said they ⁠entered shortly afterwards. The government forces are expected to be stationed in Syrian state buildings in Hasakah's ‍so-called "security zone", a Syrian official and a Kurdish security source told Reuters ahead of the deployment.

The ​accord declared on Friday foresees a phased integration of Kurdish fighters with ⁠government forces. The United States has hailed the agreement as a historic milestone towards unity and reconciliation in Syria

after ⁠14 years of civil war. The SDF was once Washington's main Syrian ally, playing a vital part in the fight against Islamic State militants. But its status ⁠weakened as President Donald Trump built close ties with Sharaa, a former al Qaeda ⁠commander who has ‌now brought almost all of Syria back under the authority of Damascus. (Additional reporting by Feras Delatey in Beirut and Suleiman al-Khalidi ⁠in Amman; Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Aidan Lewis ‍and Mark Heinrich)