ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior commander of the now-dissolved Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has criticized former Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi for becoming an adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying he had previously pledged to remain among his people.
“He should not have accepted it because initially Mazloum Abdi said that he would not take any government position but remain among his people - such a remark was suitable,” Cemil Bayik told PKK-linked Nuce TV in an interview aired late Thursday.
Bayik was referring to remarks Abdi made to Ronahi TV in late January, shortly after the SDF and Damascus reached an agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led force into the Syrian army following weeks of clashes.
“I would remain among my people,” Abdi said at the time when asked about his future, adding that he had declined positions offered by the central government and had instead recommended his “comrades.”
Abdi was appointed an adviser to Sharaa in late August, days after announcing the dissolution of the SDF as part of the integration process.
He has since shed his military uniform and held meetings with local communities to explain the agreement and the changes resulting from it.
Bayik said Abdi should not have accepted the position because he was appointed as an individual rather than as a representative of the Kurds.
“If he had assumed the position as a representative of Kurds this would mean something else. He took the position as everyone else,” Bayik said. “The criticism directed at him in this regard makes sense. We also criticize it.”
The January deal built on a March 2025 agreement between Abdi and Sharaa that envisioned integrating northeast Syria’s civil and military institutions, including border crossings, airports and oil and gas fields, into the Syrian state.
In an interview with Rudaw in August, before his appointment, Abdi said one of his priorities following the SDF’s integration would be to remain among the Kurdish population and work with political parties to establish an umbrella body representing Kurdish parties.
Asked whether he would take up a position in Damascus, Abdi said Syrian authorities wanted him there but that no final decision had been made.
Under the integration process, former SDF fighters have been incorporated into the Syrian military, while several senior Kurdish figures have taken positions in state institutions.
Sipan Hamo, a former commander of the SDF, was appointed deputy defense minister, while senior Kurdish politician Elham Ahmed joined the interim parliament.
Bayik is co-chair of the executive council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization that includes the PKK.
Abdi was previously a member of the PKK, which has longstanding ties with Syria’s Kurdish movement. He has said that all foreign fighters who joined the SDF from outside Syria to defend the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria (Rojava) have left the country.
