ANKARA – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Friday that they had reached a new comprehensive agreement with the country’s central government, aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and charting steps toward the integration of the two countries.
Syrian state television confirmed the agreement, saying government officials said it would be implemented immediately.
Damascus’s transitional government has been on the offensive with the SDF in the country’s north in recent weeks, aiming to consolidate control of the country after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
However, last week’s ceasefire evolved into an agreement for the gradual integration of Kurdish forces into the military, according to an SDF statement released on Friday.
The military has seized territory in the north and northeast from the SDF in the past three weeks in a rapid development aimed at consolidating the leadership of President Ahmed al-Shallah after months of talks between the two militaries failed to integrate fighters and Kurdish political groups into central institutions.
Under the agreement, security forces from the Syrian Ministry of Interior will enter the Kurdish heartlands of al-Hasakeh and Qamishli, which were previously off-limits, and will begin the process of integrating SDF and government forces.
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This includes the creation of a new military unit consisting of three Self-Defense Force brigades, in addition to the formation of a Self-Defense Force fighter brigade within a government brigade in Aleppo province.
The local institutions and staff of the Kurdish-led government in northeastern Syria, which has long operated as a de facto autonomous region, will be integrated into state institutions.
The agreement also includes “guarantees of citizenship and education rights for Kurds and the return of displaced persons to their areas,” the SDF statement said.
“This agreement aims to unify the Syrian territory and achieve a complete integration process in the region by strengthening cooperation between the parties concerned and unifying efforts towards national reconstruction.”
The United States, which has long been a major supporter of the SDF in its fight against Islamic State militants, is moving closer to Damascus under new interim president Ahmad al-Sharah.
The United States did not intervene militarily in this month’s fighting, but pressed both sides to come to an agreement. — Agency
