After years of autonomy and battles: The Kurdish force in Syria is dismantling and merging into the army
About 15 years after the Kurds took advantage of the civil war to establish control in northeastern Syria, the military force that became the main ally of the USA in the fight against ISIS announced its dismantling. The forces will merge into the army they were fighting against just a few months ago. Commander Mazloum Abdi: "The country has entered a new phase of peace and building a new Syria."
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are officially dismantling and merging with the Syrian army. The commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi — who led the forces identified mainly with the Kurdish minority in Syria — announced this evening (Tuesday) the dissolution of the organization that previously controlled a de facto autonomous region in the northeast of the country. At a press conference held at the presidential palace in Damascus, Abdi said that the SDF had completed the merger with the Syrian army and ceased to operate as an independent force.
The Kurdish force lost most of the territory it controlled last January in battles with the Syrian army, after which it signed the merger agreement. The SDF was previously the main partner of the USA in Syria in the fight against ISIS. However, after the ousting of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington established close ties with the new regime in Damascus, led by President Ahmad al-Shara, who was until then the leader of an Islamist rebel organization.
"The SDF bore heavy responsibility during one of the most difficult periods in Syria's history," said Abdi. "Today the circumstances have changed, and the country has entered a new phase, of peace and of participation in building a new Syria." He announced the "end of the SDF's mission" and its "dismantling as an independent military force." Abdi added: "We want to build a new Syria for all its people. A united and stable Syria that will protect the future of its children and ensure them a life of dignity."
Only in the last few days were remarks made by Abdi published, in which he said: "We intend to complete the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the new Syrian army. The agreement (with the Syrian regime) from January 29 may not meet all our aspirations, but it gives the Kurds a place within the Syrian state. We do not want to use the term dismantling the SDF, but rather integration into the Syrian army," only that it was precisely the word dismantling that appeared in the reports that came out of Syria today.
During the 50 years of the Assad dynasty's rule in Syria, the Kurds were pushed to the margins, and many of them did not receive citizenship. Shortly after the uprising against Assad began in 2011, the Kurds filled the vacuum created following the withdrawal of government forces from vast areas in northeastern Syria. At one point, the SDF controlled about 25% of the country's territory.
After the ousting of Assad, the Kurds initially took a cautious stance regarding the new regime. Some of the rebel groups that participated in the riots were forces supported by Turkey, which had previously confronted the SDF. Turkey viewed the SDF as a terrorist organization due to its ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Kurds doubted whether the new regime, led by Sunnis, would grant them real representation in the new government, while al-Shara tried to bring them closer to him.
Since the rise of Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara to power, several agreements have been signed between the Syrian regime and the SDF. The most discussed agreement was the one from March 25, 2025, which spoke of integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces into the state, but it did not lead to the cessation of clashes. The tension escalated last January and after days of fighting and reports of agreements and ceasefires that failed, they announced another agreement.
During the negotiations on a ceasefire with the SDF in January, he issued a decree to strengthen the rights of the Kurds. The decree made Kurdish an official language alongside Arabic, and recognized Nowruz as a national holiday. In addition, he restored citizenship to tens of thousands of Kurds living in the northeast of the country, after it had been denied to them in the 1962 census. Abdi said that al-Shara promised that the Kurds would have the right to study in their own language. The new Syria, under the regime of al-Shara, is still dealing with the challenge of minorities in the country, among them the Kurds, the Alawites, and the Druze.
