Syria’s new government strikes deal to integrate powerful Kurdish rival in landmark agreement

Syria’s interim government says it has reached a landmark agreement with Kurdish-led forces to integrate them into state institutions as it tries to unify the country’s diverse communities after a decade of civil war.

Syria’s interim government says it has reached a landmark agreement with Kurdish-led forces to integrate them into state institutions as it tries to unify the country’s diverse communities after a decade of civil war. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced the deal on Monday, saying the agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is aimed at “ensuring the rights of all Syrians in representation and participation in the political process and all state institutions based on competence, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds.” The agreement marks a significant victory for Sharaa, who has been working to mend Syria’s divisions. It comes in the wake of the deadliest violence the country has seen since Assad’s fall late last year, with over 700 killed in weekend clashes between government loyalists and minority Alawites. As part of his broader push to consolidate control, Sharaa has called on all armed factions, including Kurdish forces, to integrate into the national army. The People’s Protection Units (YPG), a key faction within the SDF, had pushed for the creation of special units within the military as a condition for joining, but Sharaa rejected the demand. The deal will formally recognize Syria’s Kurdish community as an integral part of the state, granting citizenship to tens of thousands who were previously denied it under the Assad regime’s decades-long rule. “We consider this agreement a real opportunity to build a new Syria that embraces all its components and ensures good neighborliness,” SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi said in a statement on X.