SDF Dissolved After Integration with Syrian Army

DAMASCUS — The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, announced on Tuesday the official dissolution of the group, saying it had completed a merger with the Syrian army and would no longer operate as an independent military force. Speaking at a news conference at the presidential palace in Damascus, Abdi said the force had fulfilled its role during a difficult period in Syria's history and that the country had entered a new phase.

“We announce today the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces and declare, with full responsibility, their dissolution as an independent military force,” he said, as quoted by the state news agency SANA. He described the moment as a historic new page titled “peace, stability and reconstruction.”

The announcement comes after the SDF lost most of its territory in northeastern Syria during a government offensive in January and subsequently signed a deal to integrate its institutions into the state. Abdi also noted that the Kurdish autonomous administration in northeastern Syria would become part of the government. The dissolution was hailed by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who, according to Al Jazeera, called it a move that "shakes off a dark stain."

A day earlier, the United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a step that Al Jazeera linked to the dissolution timing, though Washington's special envoy praised the disbandment as "what real integration looks like."

Background: From US Partner to integration

The SDF was formed in 2015 at the instigation of the United States, which was impressed by Kurdish fighters who had defeated the Islamic State in Kobane. The group went on to spearhead the battle against the Islamic State, defeating it territorially in Syria four years later, and once controlled about 25% of the country's territory. It amassed roughly 100,000 fighters at its peak, including both Kurds and Arabs, and held the oil-rich north and northeast.

However, after Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024, Washington quickly shifted to forming close ties with the new government led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The SDF lost swaths of territory to a government offensive in January, following which the two parties signed an agreement to integrate Kurdish military and civilian institutions into the national framework. This led to the weakening of the SDF, especially after Arab soldiers defected after government forces took control of Raqa and Deir Ezzor.

Constitutional Rights for Kurds

As part of the integration deal, al-Sharaa signed a decree on January 6, which enshrined Kurdish as a national language, made it an official language alongside Arabic, declared the Nowruz holiday a national holiday, and restored citizenship to tens of thousands of Kurds in Hussekeh province. Abdi has called for the preservation of the right to education in the in Kurdish language, saying al-Sharaa promised this would be implemented in the current year. The decree was seen as an unprecedented step since Syria's independence.

Implementation and Integration Steps

Since the January agreement, the two sides have taken several concrete steps: In February, Noreddin Ahmed Eissa, a Kurd from Qamishli, was appointed governor of Hasakah; In March, Sipan Hano was appointed regional assistant defense minister. Government forces entered the cities of Huseke and Qamishli, taking over Qamishli airport and key oil fields, and US troops transferred more than 5,700 Islamic State group detainees to Iraq.

On Thursday, Abdi announced at a event in Qamishli that the integration of the Kurdish administration with Syria's state institutions was complete. "The phase of integrating military, security and administrative institutions into national state institutions is complete and finished," he said, calling for a new phase of struggle to cement the people's rights in the constitution.

The Perspective of Kurdish Rights

The Kurds, who make up about 15% of Syria's population, have long been marginalized under the 50-year rule of the Asad dynasty: many were denied citizenship after a 1962 census, and public celebrations of Nowruz were banned. After the 2011 uprising, they filled a vacuum in the northeast Kurdistan, eventually controlling a de facto autonomous zone, but remained circumspect about the new authorities.

While the integration has been completed on paper, questions remain about the fate of the SDF's all-female units that have not yet been affected, and some political issues, including the representation of Kurds in a man's new Syria, are still being worked out.