Syrian government forces entered the city of Hasakah today, a Kurdish stronghold in northeastern Syria, in line with an agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish administration, according to an on-site team from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The agreement was announced on Friday, January 30, after months of tensions and clashes between Damascus’ forces and Kurdish units. It provides for the deployment of government troops in the autonomous Kurdish region and the integration of Kurdish forces and administrative structures into the Syrian state.

An AFP correspondent reported seeing a convoy of armored vehicles and Syrian security forces crossing a Kurdish checkpoint, where Kurdish fighters—men and women—stood lined up on both sides of the road holding their weapons.

Residents waving Syrian flags gathered along the road leading into the city, while ululations from women were heard in celebration, according to AFP.

Local Kurdish forces declared a curfew today in central Hasakah—home to both Kurdish and Arab populations—in order to “ensure the safety of residents.”

Reuters reported that its journalists saw a convoy of at least 30 vehicles from Syria’s Interior Ministry moving toward the city from a location outside Hasakah in the early afternoon. Two local sources said the convoy entered the city shortly afterward.

Government forces are expected to be stationed in Syrian state buildings within Hasakah’s so-called “security zone,” according to a Syrian official and a Kurdish security source who spoke to Reuters ahead of the deployment.