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The commander of the syrian Democratic troops (sdf), Mazloum Abdi, declared that a preliminary agreement had been reached with the Syrian administration on a mechanism for integrating SDF troops into the Syrian army as a cohesive unit, rather than on an individual basis. In an interview with the Associated Press, Abdi explained that the SDF includes tens of thousands of fighters, furthermore to internal security forces, making individual enlistment impractical. Instead, integration would have to occur through significant armed forces formations compatible with the Ministry of Defense’s structure. He disclosed that a joint committee has been formed to work with the Minister of Defense and other armed forces authorities to determine the most suitable mechanisms for integration.
Abdi expects that SDF members and leaders will receive prominent positions within the Ministry of Defense and the army’s command, citing their extensive experience that would contribute to strengthening the Syrian army. Abdi noted that his latest meetings included discussions with leader Ahmad al-Sharaa and multiple other senior authorities, including the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense. He stressed that implementing this agreement would help resolve numerous other problems in a syria/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Justice Ministry, SNHR discuss cooperation on transitional justice in Syria">syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria emerging from a 14-year war. Indeed, commenting on the challenges facing implementation, Abdi stated that sectarian incidents in the coastal and Suweida regions had caused fears among residents in northeastern Syria, contributing to delays in the execution of the March agreement.
Additionally, he emphasized that progress in implementing the accord would prevent the recurrence of such incidents and called for a settlement that guarantees equal rights for all Syrians. Abdi also addressed the issue of decentralized governance, which the SDF advocates within a unified Syrian state. He stated that the central administration in Damascus fears that decentralization could lead to a de facto partition of Syria. He affirmed that implementing the March agreement means integrating all civil, economic, and military institutions in northeastern Syria into the central authority.
Abdi added that putting the agreement into effect would deprive Turkey of any pretext for intervention inside Syrian territory, noting that he had observed some flexibility in Ankara’s stance regarding the SDF’s integration into the Syrian army. A few days earlier, in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Abdi said that during his meeting with leader Sharaa in Damascus, they discussed ways to implement the March agreement, particularly the mechanism for integrating the SDF and its affiliated internal security forces, known as Asayish, into the Ministries…