In Syria, the SDF's Withdrawal From Aleppo Will Complicate Kurdish Integration Efforts

The withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Aleppo will likely reduce conflict in the city, but it will also threaten Kurdish integration efforts in Syria; if the army launches a major offensive in the northeast, clashes with the SDF would likely be more intense and prolonged, potentially disrupting the country's recently resumed oil exports. Remaining SDF fighters left Aleppo on Jan. 11 after days of clashes with the Syrian army, which killed at least 24 people and injured more than 100. According to SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, the group reached a U.S.-mediated ceasefire agreement with the central Syrian government to withdraw from the city and secure the evacuation of the remaining fighters. The latest agreement comes after an earlier Jan. 9 ceasefire collapsed when SDF militants failed to meet the government's deadline to withdraw from Aleppo....