Peregraf- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will soon be incorporated into Syria’s national army, marking a major step in the March 10 agreement between interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.
Abdi announced on Friday that the process will start in the coming days, with an SDF delegation scheduled to meet officials at the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus. He emphasized that the force’s elite Anti-Terrorism Units (YAT) will share their counterinsurgency expertise nationwide as part of the new structure.
The March deal aims to fold the political and security institutions of Rojava into Syrian state bodies, with Washington and Paris serving as mediators and guarantors. Earlier this week, Abdi met President Sharaa in Damascus, where they agreed to expand the arrangement and implement a nationwide ceasefire to ease persistent clashes in northern Syria.
According to Abdi, the YAT will no longer operate solely in northeastern Syria but will be deployed across the country to assist in combating ISIS. The SDF, which spearheaded the fight against the group alongside the US-led coalition, continues to hold about 10,000 suspected ISIS fighters and nearly 30,000 family members of alleged militants.
“The experience gained in the fight against terrorism will strengthen the Syrian army,” Abdi said, stressing that the SDF seeks to join the national army as a unit, not as individually enlisted soldiers. This demand, which includes preserving female combat units, remains a point of contention with Damascus.
Despite progress in negotiations, localized violence continues. Skirmishes erupted this week in Deir Hafer and around Tishreen Dam, with both sides trading blame for the clashes.
Analysts view the integration of the SDF as both a strategic opportunity and a test of whether long-divided forces can coexist in a new Syrian military framework.