Al-Hasakah is bracing for a cautious, tense period as the four-day deadline set by Syrian government forces for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to implement an agreement to integrate into the army nears its end.

Military alert and fortifications

On the ground, Enab Baladi correspondents and local sources reported today, Saturday 24 January, that both sides sent additional military reinforcements toward contact lines on the southern side of al-Hasakah city (northeastern Syria).

As part of its preparations for any potential clash, the SDF began raising earthen berms and reinforcing its positions at the city’s western entrance near the Tuwaynah area (west of al-Hasakah city).

Inside neighborhoods, the SDF has continued holding military parades and deploying patrols, alongside raid operations and arrests in several areas.

Local sources also confirmed that the SDF converted the private al-Rajaa Hospital in the city center into a military hospital for its field use.

Shortages and displacement

The military tension has directly affected civilian life, with the city experiencing severe shortages of basic supplies, bread, and drinking water.

The controlling forces imposed a curfew from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., causing an almost complete standstill in nighttime movement and restricting daytime activity.

These conditions, along with fears that broad fighting could erupt, pushed dozens of families to temporarily leave neighborhoods near the contact lines for safer areas. Meanwhile, “Autonomous Administration” institutions called on their employees, via social media groups, to report to work on Saturday morning.

International coalition moves

On another front, Enab Baladi’s correspondent in al-Hasakah cited multiple intersecting sources indicating heightened activity by the US-led international coalition. Transfers of Islamic State detainees continued from al-Sinaa Prison in the Ghuwayran neighborhood (in al-Hasakah city) toward Iraqi territory, a step that coincided with peak field escalation between the Syrian government and the SDF.

These moves come days after the Syrian Presidency announced on Tuesday 20 January that it had reached a new understanding with the SDF on the future of al-Hasakah Governorate. Under the understanding, the SDF was granted four days to consult on a detailed plan to integrate areas in practical terms.

Both Syria’s Defense Ministry and the SDF announced they would adhere to a four-day ceasefire in line with these understandings.

Government forces did not enter majority-Kurdish areas, most notably the cities of Qamishli and al-Hasakah (northeastern Syria), and Kobani (northern Aleppo Governorate, near the Turkish border), amid negotiations over how these areas would be administered and how government institutions would re-enter them.