Damascus --  A fragile calm prevailed on Saturday along front lines between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces in the countryside of Hasakah, hours before a ceasefire is set to expire later in the day.

SDF forces were deployed along contact lines and had brought in military reinforcements, including armored vehicles, equipment, and additional troops, adding that the SDF had erected earthen berms along the road linking Hasakah to Raqqa, as well as on the Hasakah–Deir ez-Zor highway, reinforcing defensive positions.

Speaking to from the front lines, SDF commander Baz Hasakah said SDF units were fully deployed along all contact points with Syrian government forces and allied factions. “Our forces are prepared for all scenarios,” he said, adding that the ceasefire remains in effect and that no violations were recorded in Hasakah’s countryside today.

He said there are currently no close contact points between SDF fighters and government forces, which have pulled back in recent days following the ceasefire announcement.

Syrian government forces are positioned about 20 kilometers south, west, and east of Hasakah, while the SDF controls the city’s entrances and the main road linking Hasakah with Kurdish-majority towns along the northern border.

Damascus forces have seized wide swathes of territory in northern and eastern Syria from the SDF over the past two weeks. They were advancing toward the last remaining Kurdish-controlled cities in the northeast before transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced a ceasefire that granted the SDF a deadline to submit a plan for.

 integration into the Syrian army, following days of clashes across northern and eastern Syria, and includes a commitment by both sides to continue talks on de-escalation and unresolved issues, including the future of Kurdish-run civilian and security institutions, after the SDF withdrew from large areas it previously controlled.