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Integration declared complete
Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said on Thursday that the integration of Kurdish civil and military institutions into Syria's state institutions is now complete and finished, speaking at an event in Qamishli in northeastern Syria.
“the integration of the Kurdish administration within Syria's state institutions is now complete”
Abdi, who heads the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said, "I want to say that the phase of integrating military, security and administrative institutions into national state institutions is complete and finished," and added, "From now on, we begin a new phase."
The announcement followed months of negotiations after a January agreement signed by Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and it came after clashes that saw the Kurds lose swathes of territory they held in the oil-rich north and northeast.
As part of the deal's implementation, government forces entered the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli, and Damascus took over the management of Qamishli airport and key oil fields.
US troops also transferred more than 5,700 ISIS detainees in previously Kurdish-controlled camps to neighboring Iraq, according to the same account.
Reactions and analysts
While Abdi framed the move as a new phase, analysts and Kurdish-focused voices described the SDF integration as an end to Kurdish leverage in Syria.
Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based analyst and expert on the Kurds, told AFP, "Dissolving for SDF means a bitter end" for the Kurds, adding that it marked "the end of Kurdish strength in Syria."
The Daily Sabah account also quoted Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named "Mazloum Kobani," saying, "I want to say that the phase of integrating military, security and administrative institutions into national state institutions is complete and finished," at an event in Qamishli.
Daily Sabah further said Washington previously described the integration agreement as a significant development for Syria's political transition and territorial unity, and it described the process as closely watched by Türkiye.
In the same reporting, Ankara stressed that terrorist organizations should have no place in the country's future and that it considers the YPG and SDF inseparable from the PKK, which Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union designate a terrorist organization.
What changes next
The integration announcement also carried immediate institutional consequences, with reporting that the SDF and People’s Protection Units (YPG) could be dissolved before the end of August.
“potentially dissolved before the end of August”
Shafaq News said Mustafa Abdi, a Syrian lawmaker and member of the presidential team overseeing the SDF integration process, told it on August 16 that the integration had entered its final stages, with the SDF and YPG potentially dissolved before the end of August.
In parallel, Al-Jazeera Net reported that Ahmad al-Halali, the spokesman for the team tasked by the Syrian presidency to implement the January 29 agreement with the SDF, said the announcement of the dissolution of the organization would be announced soon.
Al-Jazeera Net also said Abdi’s statements included a call for protecting state institutions and an announcement of the withdrawal of foreign fighters who were within the ranks of the SDF.
The same Al-Jazeera Net account added that the Syrian government had announced on January 30, 2026, the reaching of a comprehensive agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces, including a ceasefire and the start of military and administrative integration, and the guarantee of returning the displaced to their areas.