Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces group says it has dissolved after merging with the Syrian army
Mazloum Abdi said the group’s fighters and institutions have fully joined state forces, with about 5,000 already absorbed under the January deal, officials said.
- On Thursday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces formally dissolved after completing integration of its fighters into the Syrian army, marking a critical step in the peace process ending Syria's civil conflict.
- Turkey and Russia have welcomed the disbandment, as Ankara previously regarded the SDF as an offshoot of the Kurdish Workers Party, which launched a nearly 40-year insurgency against Turkey starting in 1984.
- While the Syrian army rejected female forces, the all-female Women's Protection Units agreed to join the Interior Ministry as a counter-terrorism force, operating as a distinct and organized group.
- Interior Minister Anas Khattab met with YPJ leadership on Wednesday evening, where discussions were described as positive and both sides affirmed the unit would continue as an organized force under the ministry.
- Group leader Mazloum Abdi stated that an "important page" had been turned in Syria's long history, while Russia views the disbandment as vital for "national normalisation" and re-establishing a centralized military.
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172 Articles
Syria Kurdish women fighters discuss merger with interior ministry
The announcement came two days after the head of Kurdish fighters in Syria, Mazloum Abdi, announced the dissolution of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — which includes the YPJ — under an agreement with Damascus
In announcing the dissolution of the Syrian Democratic Forces, their leader, Mazloum Abdi, took another step towards the disappearance of the autonomous region of Rojava, in the north-east of Syria, a choice imposed by the changes in Damascus and Ankara.
The announcement on Monday, 24 August, of the surrender of the Syrian Democratic Forces strengthens President Ahmad al-Charaa. But the ongoing negotiations for the transfer of power in the Kurdish areas of the north-east of the country are likely to provoke further tensions.
The SDF, the Kurdish forces that once helped in the fight against IS, are ceasing to exist and are being integrated into the Syrian army....
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