Official: Ceasefire agreement finalized in Al-Hasakah

The National Defense Forces (NDF) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) have agreed to the terms of a recently proposed ceasefire deal that was brokered by the Syrian Government and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in order to quell the violent firefights that engulfed the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah.

According to a source in Syria, the YPG will be allowed to maintain all of their checkpoints in northern Al-Hasakah City and they will be allowed access to the NDF controlled areas. The NDF will also have to release all of the YPG fighters captured during this brief dispute. As long as the NDF maintains their end of the deal, the YPG has committed to ceasing all aggression.

In order for the NDF to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, the YPG must release all captured fighters; allow all Syrian Government forces to utilize the roads under the YPG’s jurisdiction; and they must commit to the reimplementation of a demilitarized zone to provide a buffer between the forces. The Syrian Government made it abundantly clear to the NDF officers that they do not want this violence to continue, due to its adverse effect on the civilian population.

The ceasefire agreement is effective immediately and it contains certain clauses that were not revealed to Al-Masdar News. Currently, Al-Hasakah City is split in half, with the Syrian Government administrating their jurisdiction over the southern half, while the PYD administers the northern half.