Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday, August 28, appointed the former commander of the dissolved Kurdish forces as his adviser. The appointment signals a rapprochement between two long‑time opponents from the civil‑war era.
For more than a decade, Mazloum Abdi led the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which cooperated with the United States in the fight against the Islamic State. During the civil war they seized control of large swathes of northern and eastern Syria, establishing a semi‑autonomous zone.
Following the political upheaval that saw former President Bashar al-Assad lose his grip on power at the end of 2024, a rebel coalition headed by Sharaa took charge. The new authorities, dominated by Islamist factions, pressed for the integration of territories and institutions held by the SDF into the Syrian state. The integration talks stalled for more than a year until a rapid January offensive by Syrian government forces against Abdi‘s units produced an agreement on a plan to merge the SDF with Damascus’ administration.
On Tuesday, Abdi announced that the SDF would be formally dissolved, welcoming what he described as a new phase of “peace and participation in the building of a new Syria”. His appointment as an adviser to President Sharaa was confirmed by presidential decree, though it is unclear whether the role will be largely ceremonial.
INTEGRATION AND DISSOLUTION OF SDF
Under Abdi‘s leadership, the SDF and its affiliated bodies introduced a governance model in which senior positions were shared by a man and a woman, aiming to promote gender equality. The SDF fought ultra‑conservative groups, including the Islamic State and a local branch of Al‑Qaeda, which had once been led by Sharaa before he broke ties with the organization.
As part of the integration process, SDF fighters are being absorbed into the Syrian Ministry of Defense. This also applies to high‑ranking figures who previously criticised the ruling administration. During the January clashes, leading Kurdish commander Sipan Hamo appealed to Israel to carry out airstrikes against Syrian forces. A few weeks after the integration deal was announced, he was appointed deputy minister of defense.
The question of integrating female SDF fighters into the Syrian armed forces—currently an all‑male institution—remains unresolved. Turkey, a close ally of Sharaa, welcomed the dissolution of the SDF, which it has long accused of maintaining links with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Source: REUTERS
