DAMASCUS,— The Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led forces that served as the de facto army of the autonomous Kurdish administration in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), has officially disbanded, its top commander announced Tuesday.
The move marks a key phase of a merger deal reached earlier this year with Syria’s Islamist-led government in Damascus.
General Mazloum Abdi, the SDF’s top commander, said in a televised address that the group’s mission had ended. He stated the force was being dissolved “with full responsibility” as an independent military body.
The SDF, which fought alongside U.S. troops to defeat Islamic State militants and once controlled large stretches of northern and Syrian Kurdistan, struck a deal with Damascus in January.
Under that agreement, Kurdish fighters would be folded into Syria’s national army in stages. U.S. officials described the arrangement at the time as a “historic milestone.”
Kurdish forces drove Islamic State from its final stronghold, the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria, back in March 2019.
More than 21,000 Kurdish fighters, both men and women, died battling Islamic State and Turkish-backed Syrian factions during the conflict.
Under Rojava’s own governing rules, which emphasize gender equality, Kurdish women are obligated to join the armed forces. Women hold close to half of all posts across military, political and civic institutions in the Kurdish region.
The integration agreement followed a rapid military campaign launched in January by Islamist-led government troops under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Golani, which seized large areas previously under SDF control.
Abdi said Tuesday’s announcement came after he reached terms with al-Sharaa on folding SDF units into the national army.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the backbone of the SDF, had already merged into state forces. Its commander, Sipan Hamo, was named deputy defense minister for eastern Syria in March.
The dissolution comes as Damascus works to end internal conflict and rebuild the country, backed by Washington, following nearly 14 years of civil war and decades of isolation under former President Bashar al-Assad.
(With files from Reuters | Agencies)
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