Syrian government, Kurds to extend truce by one month: Sources to AFP

• Syria and Kurdish-led SDF agree to extend ceasefire set to expire today, likely for up to one month, amid negotiations over the future of Kurd-majority areas.
• Transfer of Daesh detainees to Iraq underway; 150 senior European detainees were among the first to be moved as part of U.S.-backed plan following SDF territorial losses.

Syria’s government and Kurdish-led forces have agreed to extend a ceasefire set to expire today, sources tell AFP, as part of a broader deal concerning the future of Kurd-majority areas.

While no official announcement has yet come from Damascus or the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), two sources confirmed that the truce is expected to be extended by one month.

Earlier this week, Damascus and the SDF agreed to a four-day ceasefire after Kurdish forces relinquished significant territory to government forces. The Syrian army also sent reinforcements to a key Kurdish stronghold in the northeast.

A diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP that the ceasefire, originally due to end this evening, will be extended “for a period of up to one month at most.” A Kurdish source involved in the negotiations added that “the ceasefire has been extended until a mutually acceptable political solution is reached.”

A Syrian official in Damascus said the extension is likely to last one month, noting that one of the reasons is to complete the transfer of Daesh detainees from Syria to Iraq.

Following the SDF’s territorial losses to government forces, the United States announced plans to transfer 7,000 Daesh detainees to prisons in Iraq. On Wednesday, European detainees were among the first 150 senior Daesh prisoners transferred, according to two Iraqi security officials.

All sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.