Syria and SDF reach deal to integrate forces into state institutions

DAMASCUS — Syria has reached an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate them into state institutions, marking a major shift in the country's governance.

The Syrian presidency announced the agreement on Monday, releasing images of a signing ceremony in Damascus featuring interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi.

The deal reaffirms Syria’s territorial unity and stipulates that all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields, will be brought under the full administration of the Syrian state.

The United States-backed SDF has maintained control over a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Syria since 2015, but this agreement, if fully implemented, would end that autonomy and place the region under the authority of Damascus.

As part of the agreement, the SDF has agreed to a nationwide ceasefire and pledged support in combatting pro-Assad fighters.

The deal also affirms that the Kurdish people are an integral part of Syria and guarantees them full citizenship and constitutional rights.

Discussions over the SDF’s integration into the Syrian state have been ongoing since Assad’s fall but were complicated by years of conflict. While other opposition groups fought directly against the former regime, the SDF maintained a more ambiguous stance, at times accused of aligning with Assad’s government.

At the same time, the SDF has frequently clashed with Turkish-backed Syrian fighters and faced direct attacks from Turkiye, which views its leadership as tied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union.

Despite this, the SDF has been a key US ally in the fight against ISIL (ISIS), leading the final offensive that ended the group’s territorial control in Syria in 2019.

Several regional and international developments may have influenced the timing of the agreement. The administration of US President Donald Trump has reportedly been planning a withdrawal from Syria.

“Syria is its own mess. They got enough messes over there. They don’t need us involved in every one,” Trump said earlier this year.

Additionally, an announcement on February 27 by Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, calling for the group to dissolve itself, has added pressure on the SDF to find a long-term arrangement. — Agencies