Turkey's Erdogan says Kurdish forces in Syria must lay down arms and disband now

Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) gesture in Deir al-Zor, after U.S.-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters captured Deir el-Zor, the government's main foothold in the vast desert, according to Syrian sources, in Syria December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo

ANKARA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Turkish President ‌Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish forces in northern Syria must lay ‌down weapons and disband now to avoid further bloodshed, after Damascus struck ‌a ceasefire with the group and gave them four days to agree on integrating into the central state.

Syria's Turkey-backed government forces seized swathes of territory from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria this ‍week, as part of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's efforts ‍to bring all the country under ‌central government authority.