DAMASCUS: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key US-backed force that spearheaded the fight against Daesh in Syria, has formally dissolved as an independent military organisation after completing its integration into the Syrian army, marking a major shift in the country’s post-war power structure.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi announced the decision on Tuesday at the People’s Palace in Damascus, saying the group’s mission had ended following the completion of an agreement with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to integrate its forces into the state military.
“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,” Abdi said, according to Syrian state media.
Abdi said the move marked a new phase for Syria focused on peace, stability and reconstruction. He said the objective was to build a united Syria for Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Assyrians while preserving the rights of the country’s different communities.
The SDF was established in 2015 with US support and became Washington’s principal ground partner in the campaign against Daesh in Syria. The force, comprising mainly Kurdish and Arab fighters, eventually controlled large parts of northeastern Syria, including areas containing significant oil and agricultural resources.
At its height, the SDF was estimated to have tens of thousands of fighters and operated alongside a Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeastern Syria. Its forces played a central role in the campaign that ended Daesh’s territorial control in Syria.
The dissolution follows a January agreement between Damascus and the SDF that provided for a phased integration of the Kurdish-led force and affiliated civilian institutions into the Syrian state. The arrangement also covered strategic assets and facilities previously controlled by the SDF, including border crossings, oil and gas fields and detention facilities holding suspected Daesh members.
The agreement came after Syrian government forces launched a major offensive in January and recaptured substantial territory previously held by the SDF. The developments accelerated negotiations over the future of Kurdish-controlled areas and the incorporation of the region into the central state structure.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which formed the core of the SDF, had already begun integration into Syrian state forces, with its commander Sipan Hamo appointed deputy defence minister responsible for eastern Syria in March, according to Reuters.
The agreement has also included provisions concerning Kurdish rights. President al-Sharaa has recognised Kurdish national rights and supported the right to education in the Kurdish language, although questions remain over how such rights will ultimately be incorporated into Syria’s constitutional and political framework.
Turkey, which regards the YPG as linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), welcomed the SDF’s dissolution, describing it as a development that could strengthen Syrian unity and consolidate military authority under the central government.
For President al-Sharaa, the integration represents a significant step toward consolidating Damascus’ authority over territory that had remained outside central government control for much of the Syrian civil war. It also removes one of the country’s most powerful independent armed structures and advances efforts to create a unified national military.
For Syria’s Kurds, however, the end of the SDF marks the conclusion of a decade-long period in which they maintained a substantial degree of military and administrative autonomy. Abdi has stressed that while the armed structure is ending, the Kurdish political struggle for constitutional, cultural and linguistic rights will continue.
The dissolution therefore represents both a major consolidation of Syrian state authority and a pivotal moment for the country’s Kurdish community as Damascus moves toward rebuilding a unified state after years of conflict.
Read also: KP forest department launches major operation against timber mafia in Swat
