Rabat_The Syrian Presidency released images on Monday featuring interim-Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa and the head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, announcing reaching an agreement to integrate the SDF within Syrian state institutions.
The agreement, which would bring the SDF-ruled territory under the Syrian central government if implemented, signals a major leap towards a united Syria. It declares the emergence of all civil and military institutions in the northeast into the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields.
This agreement affirms the constitutional rights of Kurdish people and their right to citizenship as an integral part of Syria, although it remains unclear at this stage whether the Kurdish territory would uphold some of its autonomy.
The agreement also includes the implementation of a ceasefire across Syria, and guarantees the SDF support in combating “Pro-Assad” fighters.
While talks of SDF integration into the Syrian state have been ongoing since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, it was still surprising given their repeated clashes with the Turkish-backed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The SDF had received support from the United States given its integral part in fighting, and ultimately defeating, ISIS. However, while the HTS fighters were on their way to undertake Damascus in December 2024, US president Donald Trump announced that his country would not get involved in the matter.
“THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED.” He exclaimed on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that 6,000 Syrian Alawites have crossed into Lebanon to flee the violent bloodshed in Latakia and Tartus, in which over 1,000 Alawite civilians were killed by the Syrian security forces in retaliation for the attacks led by armed Alawite groups against them.
