SDF dissolves as its merger with the Syrian army is completed
Mazloum Abdi said the SDF had completed its merger with the Syrian army and dissolved as an independent military force. The group entered the agreement after losing most of its territory in a January government offensive, giving Damascus a major step toward reunifying the country. Kurdish language rights, restored citizenship and the future of women’s units remain important parts of the settlement.
Geopolitics··Morning
The independent military structure ends
Mazloum Abdi announced at the presidential palace in Damascus that the Syrian Democratic Forces had completed their merger with the Syrian army and dissolved as an independent military force. France 24 and the Associated Press reported that the declaration completed the integration agreement reached after a government offensive in January. The SDF had been the United States’ main Syrian partner in the war against the Islamic State group. France 24 put its peak strength at about 100,000 Kurdish and Arab fighters, while the Associated Press said it once controlled about 25 per cent of Syria.[1], [2]
The January decree expanded Kurdish rights
The military merger was accompanied by a decree that changed the Kurds’ civil status. The Associated Press reported that President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s January decree made Kurdish an official language alongside Arabic, adopted Nowruz as a national holiday and restored citizenship to tens of thousands of Kurds who had lost it through the 1962 census. France 24 described the measure as an unprecedented recognition since Syria’s independence in 1946. Abdi said the government had also promised Kurds the right to education in their own language.[2], [1]
The future of women’s units remains unresolved
Some implementation details of the merger have not yet been settled publicly. The Associated Press reported that it remains uncertain how the SDF’s all-women fighting units will be accommodated within the Syrian army. France 24 said the January agreement also requires the SDF to expel all non-Syrian PKK leaders and members from the country. The deal brought most of Syria under the control of al-Sharaa’s government in Damascus, while the southern province of Sweida remains the main territory outside central government control.[2], [1]
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