Four SDF brigades integrated, but army cohesion remains elusive: Kurdish defense official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s deputy defense official said Saturday that four brigades of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been integrated into the national army, though full cohesion has yet to be achieved.

“Four brigades have been formed from the SDF and officially incorporated into the military structure,” Sipan Hamo, defense undersecretary for the Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria (Rojava), told Hawar News Agency.

He noted that “the issue of cohesion still remains, and we have not yet reached a fully unified military body.”

The brigades were established in Kobani and Hasaka.

After weeks of intense clashes, the SDF - Rojava’s de facto military - and Damascus reached an agreement on January 29 outlining a roadmap to integrate Kurdish-led forces and civilian institutions into the Syrian state.

Hamo’s appointment in March as defense undersecretary for the Eastern Region marked a key step in that process. The region’s command structure spans Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah provinces. Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor had been under SDF control before being taken by the interim government in January.

“There is a clear reality that SDF personnel far exceed the number of troops in the newly formed brigades,” Hamo said, adding that discussions are ongoing to incorporate remaining fighters as "battalions, attachments, or additional brigades and regiments."

The SDF was a key force in the fight against the Islamic State, fielding a multiethnic force of more than 110,000 troops. However, during Damascus’s January offensive, many Arab tribal fighters defected, leaving the force largely composed of Kurdish units, particularly the People’s Protection Units (YPJ).

Since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, negotiations between the SDF and Syria’s interim government have been marked by mistrust. Damascus has pushed to centralize authority, while Kurdish leaders have sought substantial autonomy for Rojava.

Still, the January agreement accelerated integration. Authorities in Damascus have appointed an SDF-linked governor for Hasaka, a deputy defense minister for former SDF-held areas, and a deputy head of internal security forces in the province.

“With the completion of the army’s internal regulations and organizational mechanisms, these issues are expected to be resolved, cohesion strengthened, and divisions across Syria reduced,” Hamo said Thursday.