Shelling near north Syria's Raqqa city despite ceasefire

• Despite a newly brokered truce, heavy clashes and government shelling erupted near Raqqa’s Al-Aqtan prison and Shaddadi, with both sides trading accusations over the security of Daesh detainees and the "non-positive" nature of direct negotiations between President Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi.
• Following the breakdown in local talks, Presidents Sharaa and Trump held a phone call to emphasize the protection of Kurdish rights and territorial unity, even as the Syrian military continues its rapid takeover of former autonomous strongholds in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.

A monitor said clashes erupted on Monday evening between government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces near northern Syria's Raqqa city, a day after the sides agreed a ceasefire.

The AFP correspondent in Raqqa reported the sound of heavy bombardment, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "clashes between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces stationed at Al-Aqtan prison", on the city's outskirts, adding that government forces also shelled an SDF military position north of the city.

A Kurdish source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity that direct negotiations were held on Monday between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi but were not positive.

Afterwards, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump discussed guaranteeing Kurdish rights in a phone call on Monday, Syria's presidency said.

Sharaa met Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, to discuss the agreement, which includes integrating the Kurds' administration into the state, but a Kurdish source with knowledge of the talks told AFP they were not positive.

Analysts said the deal -- following rapid government gains in Kurdish-controlled territory after driving Kurdish fighters out of Aleppo city earlier this month -- marked a blow for the minority's long-held ambitions of preserving the de facto autonomy they had exercised in swathes of north and northeast Syria for over a decade.

In the phone call, Sharaa and Trump, "emphasised the need to guarantee the Kurdish people's rights and protection within the framework of the Syrian state", the Syrian presidency said.

They "affirmed the importance of preserving the unity and independence of Syrian territory" and discussed "cooperation on combating" Daesh, it added.

Requesting anonymity, the Kurdish source with knowledge of Monday's talks between Sharaa and Abdi said differences concerned "the mechanism for implementing the terms of the agreement".

Despite the ceasefire, brief clashes erupted on Monday evening in Raqqa city, with an AFP correspondent hearing heavy bombardment.

The SDF said government forces shelled the Al-Aqtan prison "which holds [Daesh] members and leaders, in an attempt to storm it".

Raqqa was once Daesh’s de facto capital in Syria.

A defence ministry source later told AFP that the clashes had halted, without elaborating.

Sunday's agreement included the Kurdish administration's immediate handover of Arab-majority Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces to the government, which will also take responsibility for Daesh prisoners and their families held in Kurdish-run jails and camps.

A defence ministry map published on Monday showed the government controlled all of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces, while the eastern parts of Hasakeh province were still under Kurdish control.

In Deir Ezzor province, an AFP correspondent saw military vehicles heading east of the Euphrates, while cars and pedestrians waited at a bridge leading to the eastern bank.

Authorities announced a curfew in Hasakeh province's Shadadi after the army said the SDF released Daesh detainees from the town's prison, while the Kurds said they lost control of the facility after an attack by Damascus.

The sides had earlier traded blame for attacks that the military said killed three soldiers.

The SDF had seized swathes of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces as they expelled Daesh during Syria's civil war, supported by an international coalition led by Washington.