Syria’s government signs breakthrough deal with Kurdish-led authorities

An abandoned makeshift checkpoint on the outskirts of Latakia in Syria’s coastal region (Omar Albam/AP)

Syria’s central government has reached a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s north east, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main US-backed force there into the Syrian army.

The deal was signed on Monday by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.