Syria
Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaking to local media during an interview aired on December 12, 2024.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Monday said that officials of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) will keep their posts under a recently signed agreement with Damascus, as talks continue over the integration of Rojava’s civil and military institutions.
"In the agreement [with Damascus], we wrote that the administrators and officials of the Autonomous Administration will remain in their positions," Abdi said, regarding the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
An internationally brokered ceasefire that halted January’s hostilities between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democtratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus-affiliated armed groups outlines the gradual integration of DAANES institutions - which governs the Kurdish enclave - into Syrian state structures.
Under the deal, DAANES institutions will become directorates under Damascus, according to Abdi. He added that a joint committee has been formed to manage the transition process.
"We have formed a committee in which there is the co-chair of the Jazira region of the Autonomous Administration and the governor. Those who come from the state in Damascus will hold discussions with them regarding the existing institutions, so that the institutions become directorates,” Abdi said.
Semalka border crossing
Addressing Semalka border crossing - the only crossing between the Kurdistan Region and Rojava - Abdi said it would continue operating under its current local administration.
"Semalka will remain as it is. Its administrators, officials, and security will remain as they are, but a Damascus delegation will supervise some affairs that are related to the state, such as passport inspection," he said.
His remarks came after Syria’s newly appointed internal security chief in Hasaka, Marwan al-Ali, told reporters on Saturday that the crossing would return to full central government control. “It will return to state authority and will have the same status as other crossings,” Ali said.
Semalka has been a critical lifeline for Rojava since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. During the most recent tensions, hundreds of aid trucks entered Rojava from Kurdistan Region through the crossing while SDF-held areas were under siege.
Military integration
Abdi also outlined the military component of the agreement, confirming plans to restructure SDF forces under a unified command.
"A division consisting of three brigades will be formed from the SDF forces. One brigade in Hasaka, one brigade in Qamishli, and one brigade in Derek [al-Malikiyah]," he said.
The Damascus-SDF agreement, announced late January, includes a comprehensive ceasefire and a phased plan for integrating military and administrative structures. It calls for the formation of a military division composed of three SDF brigades, as well as a special brigade for forces in the Kurdish city of Kobane, operating under a division affiliated with Aleppo province.
Nearly two weeks after the agreement, Kobane remains under a crippling humanitarian siege. Local residents and politicians have warned that the the situation is heading toward “a catastrophe” as residents face severe shortages of food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies.
The agreement followed a mid-January offensive by the Syrian Arab Army and allied armed groups aimed at pushing the SDF from parts of northern and northeast Syria, including areas in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka provinces.
The Kurdish-led forces and Damascus last week announced the internationally brokered January 29 deal, facilitated primarily by France and the United States, to end hostilities and integrate Rojava’s civil and military institutions under Syrian state authority.
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