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Syria Integrates Kurdish-Led Syrian Democratic Forces into State Bodies. Why it matters

Author:
Liza Brovko
Date:

Syriaʼs new leadership has said it has reached an agreement with the Kurdish-

A people who constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in the Middle East but do not have their own state. They live mainly in the region known as Kurdistan, which encompasses parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. There are an estimated 30–40 million Kurds in the world.
led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate them into state institutions and bodies. If the deal is implemented, the territory under SDF control will come under full Syrian government control.

This was reported by the press service of the Syrian Presidentʼs Office and the Qatari TV channel Al Jazeera.

The agreement was signed by the interim President of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi.

The document emphasized the unity of Syria and stipulated that "all civilian and military institutions in northeastern Syria" would be united "into the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the airport, and oil and gas fields".

The Syrian Democratic Forces is a military alliance formed in 2015 with the support of the US-led international coalition in Syria. The backbone of the alliance is the Kurdish self-defense units. It also includes parts of the armed units of the Syrian Arab opposition, Assyrian and Turkmen units. It operates in the northern regions of Syria.

The US-backed SDF has controlled an autonomous region in northeastern Syria since 2015. It is marked in yellow on the map.

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The overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria

The Syrian opposition entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, on December 8, 2024, and overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power for 24 years. Assad himself fled to Moscow.

Syrian rebels have formed a transitional government, headed by Muhammad al-Bashir, who led the "Salvation Government" — a political structure created in 2017 in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition, primarily in Idlib province. The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group and de facto leader of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa (better known as Muhammad al-Julani), became the countryʼs interim president.

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