DAMASCUS, Jan 25, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A four-day ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish forces lapsed on Saturday evening, with no official announcement on its extension from either side.

Multiple sources had earlier told AFP the truce would be prolonged, with one saying the main reason was to allow for the US transfer of jihadist detainees from previously Kurdish-run prisons in Syria to neighbouring Iraq.

But minutes before the truce was due to officially expire at 8pm (1700 GMT), Syrian state television cited a foreign ministry source as saying an extension had not yet occurred.

No official announcement has come from Damascus or the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but Syria's state-run SANA news agency quoted a government source as saying Damascus was "studying its options" after the truce lapsed.

Damascus and the SDF had agreed to the four-day ceasefire on Tuesday after Kurdish forces relinquished swathes of territory to government troops, who also sent reinforcements to a Kurdish stronghold in the northeast.

A diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP earlier on Saturday that the ceasefire would be extended "for a period of up to one month at most".

A Kurdish source close to the negotiations also said "the ceasefire has been extended until a mutually acceptable political solution is reached".

A Syrian official in Damascus said the "agreement is likely to be extended for one month", citing the transfer of Islamic State group detainees to Iraq, later adding the extension might be announced in the evening.

All sources requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

After the SDF lost large areas to government forces, Washington said it would transfer 7,000 IS detainees to prisons in Iraq.

Prior to the end of the ceasefire, the Kurds' de facto autonomous administration accused Damascus of undertaking "military preparations" to "escalate the situation and drag the region into a new confrontation".

- IS transfer -

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country is a key backer of Damascus but hostile to the SDF, had said during a TV interview Friday that in light of the IS prisoner transfers, "extending the ceasefire for a while longer might be considered".

IS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and other atrocities before ultimately being territorially defeated by the SDF and a US-led coalition.

The truce between Damascus and the Kurds is part of a new understanding over Kurdish-majority areas in Hasakeh province and a broader deal to integrate the Kurds' administration into the state.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's Islamist forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

The new authorities are now seeking to extend state control across Syria, resetting international ties including with the United States, now a key ally.

The Kurdish source said the SDF submitted a proposal to Damascus through US envoy Tom Barrack that would have the government managing border crossings -- a key Damascus demand.

It also proposes that Damascus would "allocate part of the economic resources -- particularly revenue from border crossings and oil -- to the Kurdish-majority areas", the source added.

Earlier this month, the Syrian army recaptured oil fields, including the country's largest, while advancing against Kurdish forces.

As Syrian government troops surround the Kurdish-majority town of Kobane, Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party Saturday called for the blockade to be lifted immediately.