Kurdish forces give up provinces' control to Syrian government

A crowd of Syrians gathered in the middle of Raqqa to celebrate a ceasefire agreement and the entry of government forces into the city's province.

Residents waved Syrian flags, lit fireworks, and fired machine guns into the air.

The Syrian government had announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which was mainly Kurdish-led.

They controlled the northeast of the country for over a decade.

The ceasefire agreement includes the dismantling of the SDF and having its forces join Syria's military and security forces.

The SDF would have to give up the Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces to the Syrian government, as well as its border crossings and gas fields.

There is no clear timeline on when and how the different parts of the agreement will go into full effect.