SDF-Damascus deal includes Kurdish Hasaka, Kobani brigades, local security: Rojava official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior Kurdish official in northeast Syria (Rojava) said on Friday the enclave will retain its local security forces (Asayish) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will serve in four brigades in Kurdish strongholds under the Syrian army in the framework of a new deal.

Elham Ahmed, foreign relations co-chair for the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) in northeastern Syria (Rojava), said at a press conference that the agreement struck between Damascus and Kurdish leaders on Friday aims to halt fighting and establish a permanent ceasefire. She said one of its main objectives is “stopping the bloodshed.”

Ahmed said the deal, which will be gradually implemented, includes four new Syrian army brigades from within the SDF. Three will be stationed in Hasaka and one in Kobane, both Kurdish strongholds, and will include Kurdish female fighters known as the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

Kurdish security forces (Asayish) will fall under the Ministry of Interior but will be run locally, she said.

“Our security forces are staying put; no force will replace our local forces,” Ahmed added.

She confirmed that Syrian government security forces will enter the Kurdish-held cities of Qamishli on the Turkish border and Hasaka with light weapons during the transition but will withdraw. She emphasized that security officials will be local.

The agreement marks a shift in governance in northeastern Syria, which local governments and the SDF have run autonomously for over a decade. Damascus has pressed for a centralized government model.

Ahmed added that the region’s government would remain in local hands.

“The governor of Hasaka will be determined by us,” she said, adding that responsibility for border protection will rest with people from the region.

Ahmed also highlighted that certificates issued in the Kurdish educational institutions will be recognized by the Syrian government. She said education must take place in the “mother tongue,” calling it a fundamental right. A Syrian presidential decree has pledged guarantees for cultural, linguistic, land, and citizenship rights for Kurds.

International and Kurdish leaders welcomed the agreement.

The deal closely mirrors a 14-point plan agreed upon by Sharaa and Abdi earlier this month. Damascus and the international community have pressed for the autonomously-run SDF and Kurdish-led local governments in northeast Syria to fall under the central government as Syria recovers from five decades of Ba’athist rule and a 14-year civil war.

While Kurdish leaders agreed in principle to the deal, they remained concerned about losing power and Kurdish rights under the Sunni Arab-led government. Sharaa attempted to alleviate those fears with a decree pledging guarantees for historic cultural, linguistic, land, and citizenship rights for Kurds.

The agreement calls for a permanent ceasefire to end weeks of fighting between the SDF and Damascus-affiliated factions that also triggered a humanitarian crisis. The Syrian Arab Army launched a major offensive earlier this month to capture territory and key infrastructure held by the Kurdish-led forces in northern and northeastern Syria (Rojava).

The offensive led to SDF forces withdrawing from areas including Kurdish-majority areas of Aleppo, the predominantly Kurdish province of Hasaka and former Islamic State (ISIS) strongholds of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.

According to United Nations estimates, the fighting has displaced around 100,000 people, most of them Kurds. The Damascus-SDF agreement “guarantees the return of displaced persons to their homes,” the statement said.


Updated 9:54 pm.