Syria’s government and Kurdish-led forces have reached an agreement that aims to reunite the country under one authority after 14 years of conflict and division.
The accord between interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, who is the leader of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), will extend government control to the 25 per cent of the country ruled by the autonomous Kurdish administration.
It will “integrate all civilian and military institutions of northeast of Syria”, including border posts, the airport, and lucrative oil and gasfields.
In return, the agreement grants citizenship and constitutional rights to the Kurdish community.
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Although Kurds make up 10 per cent of Syria’s population, many were denied nationality and language-based rights by the Bashar al-Assad regime, which was ousted by the Turkish-backed Sunni fundamentalists Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) three months ago.
The agreement calls for an end to “division, hate speech and attempts to sow discord” between communities.
In a post on X on Tuesday, SDF’s Abdi said it was a “real opportunity to build a new Syria [which] guarantees the rights of all Syrians and fulfils their aspirations for peace and dignity”.
The accord binds the SDF to support the Syrian state in the battle against Assad loyalists and other threats. This integration of 45,000 SDF troops would strengthen the nascent Syrian army, which is being reconstituted by HTS.
[ Syria faces demands for accountability after civilian killings ]
Formed in 2015 and supported by the United States, the SDF was the most effective paramilitary formation to fight Islamic State, which occupied vast tracts of Syrian and Iraqi territory.
The accord was made possible by last month’s abandonment by Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) of a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state. Once the PKK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, declared an end to the revolt and Kurdish acceptance of Turkish democratic rule, the onus was on Abdi to follow his example.
The agreement between the SDF and Syria’s government should end attacks on the SDF by Turkish-sponsored Syrian forces. This could enable the SDF to concentrate on eliminating fighters from Islamic State, also known as Isis, operating in eastern Syria.
US president Donald Trump could see this as an opportunity to revisit his first-term proposal to withdraw 2,000 US troops deployed with the SDF in northeastern Syria.
The announcement of the accord coincided with a statement from Syria’s government that military operations against Assad remnants had ended in the northwest Latakia and Tartus provinces.
The British-based Syrian Network for Human Rights has reported that 779 people were killed, most of whom were civilians from Assad’s minority Alawite community.
The massacre followed a deadly attack on an army checkpoint by pro-Assad fighters.
Sharaa has said those responsible will be held accountable.
