Damascus, (EFE).- Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) armed alliance, announced on Tuesday the dissolution of his formation and its integration into the institutions of the Syrian state.
Speaking at a press conference from the People’s Palace (Qasr al-Shaab) in Damascus, the seat of the Syrian presidency, Abdi also confirmed the dissolution of the civil autonomous administration that governed Kurdish-majority regions in northeast Syria, which will now be incorporated into the new Syrian state.
«Today we announce the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces and, with full responsibility, we announce its dissolution as a military force,» Abdi said during the press conference, which was broadcast by official state media.
«Today we stand together and begin to open a new page, titled peace, stability, and nation-building,» the Kurdish leader stated, emphasizing his hope «that this day marks the beginning of a true transition from the battlefields to the fields of construction.»
Abdi, speaking in both Kurdish and Arabic, underlined that the objective of the decision is to build «a new Syria, a Syria for all its people: Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Assyrians.»
«We want a united Syria that protects the future of its children and ensures them a life of dignity,» he stressed.
The dissolution will include the Autonomous Administration, the Kurdish civil institution, as well as «all military and civil formations affiliated with it,» he said, noting that «all of them will be fully integrated into state institutions.»
The announcement, which follows an agreement reached with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in January, represents a significant step in Damascus’ efforts to bring northeast Syria under central government control after years of de facto Kurdish-led autonomy.
Formed in 2015, the SDF became the primary US-backed force in the multi-year campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
Since its inception, it captured vast swaths of the country’s northeast, including key oil-rich regions, and established a civil administration in the territories under its control.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Damascus and the Kurdish administration entered negotiations regarding the future of northeast Syria to unify the country’s territory after months of armed clashes with the forces of the «new Syria.»
In March 2025, Abdi and Al-Sharaa signed an agreement stipulating the integration of the SDF and the civil institutions of northeast Syria into the Syrian state, a pact that recognizes the Kurdish community as an integral part of Syria and protects their cultural and linguistic rights.
However, the implementation of the pact was delayed several times due to disagreements on various points until late January, when the parties finally reached a solid agreement. Mediated by Washington, the deal aims to integrate the regions previously administered by Syrian Kurds in the northeast into state structures.
The SDF has been a key partner in the US campaign against ISIS in eastern Syria, although neighboring Turkey considered the formation a terrorist group due to its links with the also-dissolved Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey. EFE
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