Syria
Sipan Hemo, a member of the SDF General Command, speaks to pro-SDF Ronahi TV on January 11, 2026. Photo: Screengrab/Ronahi TV
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A leading figure from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been appointed deputy to the Syrian defense minister, Damascus-run media reported Tuesday, weeks after the SDF and the interim Syrian government reached a ceasefire on January 29, ending weeks of deadly clashes.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) cited Asim Ghalioun, head of the Defense Ministry’s Media and Communication Directorate, announcing that Sipan Hemo, a key member of the SDF General Command, “has been appointed deputy defense minister for the eastern region in the Syrian Arab Republic.”
The eastern region, commonly referred to as Jazira, covers areas east of the Euphrates River, including parts of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and predominantly Kurdish Hasaka provinces.
In late January, the Kurdish-led SDF said it had reached a “comprehensive agreement” with the transitional government in Damascus that allowed government forces to enter the Kurdish cities of Hasaka and Qamishli in northeast Syria (Rojava), and stipulated the creation of three army brigades from SDF forces to integrate them under the Syrian state.
“A ceasefire agreement was reached between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces under a comprehensive framework, with an understanding on the phased integration of military and administrative forces between the two sides,” the SDF stated.
“The agreement also includes the integration of the institutions of the [Democratic] Autonomous Administration [of North and East Syria, governing Rojava] into the institutions of the Syrian state.”
The agreement followed weeks of intense fighting after a Damascus-led offensive aimed to recapture territory previously held by the SDF in northern and northeastern Syria.
The SDF, which serves as the de facto military force in Rojava and a key partner of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), had maintained control over those areas after having liberated them from ISIS.
The Syrian offensive led to the gradual withdrawal of the SDF from areas they held in eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka.
Sipan Hemo, who was a member of the SDF negotiation delegation in the January talks, is a prominent commander of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF.
Hemo’s appointment as deputy defense minister marks a significant step in implementing the January 29 integration deal, following SDF-backed appointments of Nour al-Din Issa as governor of Hasaka and Marwan al-Ali as the governorate’s internal security chief.
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