Syrian forces make gains against SDF: What it means for country’s Kurds

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Territorial gains successful northeast Syria, wherever authorities forces took the cities of Raqqa and Deir Az Zor from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), person been a boon to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Negotiations with the SDF person been ongoing since the autumn of the Bashar al-Assad authorities successful December 2024 implicit the main Kurdish typical successful Syria’s integration into the Syrian equipped forces. Al-Sharaa has utilized varying tactics against the group, precocious announcing a decree for Kurdish rights portion besides confronting the radical militarily.

Ceasefire and agreements

These caller advancements by the Syrian authorities person stripped distant overmuch of the SDF’s leverage.

“This was astir [the Syrian authorities forces] taking power of the astir resource-rich parts of SDF territory that had the demographically highest fig of Arabs, truthful they managed to play this precise good by having a constricted violative but, astatine the aforesaid time, getting the tribal networks to emergence up against SDF rule; and erstwhile they did that, it was fundamentally crippled implicit for the SDF,” Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer astatine King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

When the Assad authorities fell successful December 2024, the SDF was hesitant to propulsion its chapeau into the ringing with the caller forces successful Damascus. Negotiations betwixt Mazloum Abdi, the SDF’s leader, besides known arsenic Mazloum Kobani, and al-Sharaa culminated successful an statement connected March 10, 2025 to integrate the Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian authorities forces.

However, details of the statement were inactive to beryllium ironed out. The SDF did not privation to springiness up the hard-fought gains it had made during the past 14 years of conflict. It has antecedently called for autonomous power oregon decentralised regularisation successful the northeast.

Tension had simmered betwixt the 2 sides, manifesting successful caller clashes successful Aleppo and an SDF withdrawal from the metropolis crossed the Euphrates River. Syrian authorities forces precocious towards the northeast and person present taken territory, including the cities of Raqqa and Deir Az Zor.

A ceasefire was agreed connected Monday, but clashes continued connected Tuesday successful the Hasakah portion of northeast Syria, arsenic Kurds determination and successful the diaspora feared incursions by authorities forces.

Recent discussions seemed to person settled connected a look wherever the SDF enactment would support power implicit 3 Kurdish-led divisions successful Syrian forces, portion the remainder of the fighters would integrate arsenic individuals. Analysts said it present looks arsenic though idiosyncratic integration is much apt to spell ahead.

“They [the Syrian government] person achieved a precise large milestone by forcing the SDF to integrate arsenic individuals,” Labib Nahhas, a Syrian analyst, told Al Jazeera. “But vetting volition beryllium a immense situation due to the fact that we are talking astir 50 to 70 oregon 80,000 soldiers, truthful this is simply a monolithic infiltration from a information constituent of view.”

Kurdish rights

Before this important development, the SDF had been negotiating with Damascus implicit a fewer cardinal points. In summation to discussions astir integration, it wanted immoderate signifier of autonomy oregon governmental decentralisation and the designation of Kurdish rights.

On January 16, connected the backmost of fierce warring betwixt authorities forces and the SDF successful Aleppo, al-Sharaa issued a decree formally recognising Kurdish arsenic a “national language” and restoring citizenship to each Kurdish Syrians.

The decree, which declared Newroz, the outpouring and caller twelvemonth festival celebrated by Kurds, a nationalist vacation and banned taste oregon linguistic discrimination, addressed 1 cardinal SDF demand.

Under the Assad regime, Kurds were an oppressed number successful Syria. Their connection and individuality were not officially recognised and often suppressed by the state.

The determination was described by Obayda Ghadban, a researcher with Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, arsenic historic.

“It has recognised the cultural, linguistic rights of Kurdish Syrians, which is simply a grievance that has been accumulating for decades,” helium told Al Jazeera. “This was seen arsenic a motion of goodwill by the SDF and regained the momentum of negotiations that person been going [on] for much than a twelvemonth now.”

Al-Sharaa announced a four-day ceasefire with the SDF connected Tuesday and said if a woody could beryllium reached, authorities forces would permission Kurdish-majority cities similar Hasakah and Qamishli to grip their information themselves.

Despite the carrot-and-stick approach, immoderate analysts felt al-Sharaa’s designation of Kurdish rights was apt a governmental tactic.

“Had a akin decree been issued six months agone successful the discourse of comparative bid betwixt the 2 sides, I judge the concern would person been precise different,” Thomas McGee, Max Weber chap astatine the European University Institute successful Florence, Italy, told Al Jazeera.

“The information that nary designation of Kurdish rights came for the afloat archetypal twelvemonth aft the autumn of al-Assad is so significant. With this decree abruptly coming retired wrong the discourse of ample subject developments shows that the Syrian authorities considers designation of Kurdish rights arsenic a tactical contented alternatively than specified rights being considered innate and unconditional.”

Shortly aft the announcement, al-Sharaa announced a subject cognition successful Deir Hafir, a municipality successful the north, 50km (31 miles) eastbound of Aleppo, wherever SDF forces had retreated aft evacuating the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh successful Aleppo. Some Syrians and analysts told Al Jazeera that the SDF’s estimation had suffered amid the warring successful Aleppo, adjacent among immoderate Kurds, but it did not mean Kurds would propulsion their value down the government.

“[Al-Sharaa] wanted to bash this earlier the subject operation,” Wladimir van Wilgenburg, an expert of Kurdish authorities based successful Erbil, Iraq, told Al Jazeera.

“The Kurdish sentiment volition not alteration overmuch towards the authorities due to the fact that it doesn’t recognise immoderate signifier of section autonomy, and some the main Kurdish parties privation immoderate signifier of autonomy oregon decentralisation.”

US and Turkiye

International actors volition besides person their eyes connected the developments successful northeast Syria.

Turkiye appears to beryllium a large victor successful the latest developments. The state warned the SDF successful aboriginal January that its “patience is moving out” with the group.

“Ankara has welcomed the ceasefire and Full Integration Agreement, and it is surely successful Turkish interests,” McGee said. “Ultimately, connected the SDF/self-administration integration, Turkiye and Damascus person agelong shared the aforesaid wide reddish lines.”

There has besides been a treatment astir overseas fighters successful SDF-controlled areas, which, nether the ceasefire agreement, Nahhas said, the SDF was required to expel immoderate “PKK-linked oregon affiliated individuals oregon operatives”.

Then determination is the United States, which helped broker the ceasefire owed to its adjacent narration with the SDF and Damascus. The US presently has astir 900 soldiers successful the SDF-controlled parts of Syria for countering ISIL, and analysts said it was improbable those troops would withdraw.

But nether the Trump administration, relations betwixt Washington and Damascus person warmed considerably.

Al-Sharaa, who had been considered a “terrorist” by the US erstwhile the Assad authorities fell successful 2024, visited the White House successful November 2025, marking a singular turnaround successful hardly a year. Shortly aft that visit, Syria joined the anti-ISIL coalition.

After a telephone telephone with al-Sharaa, US President Donald Trump released a connection connected Monday supporting Syria’s unity and “fight against terrorism”.

Not each US authoritative was pleased with the caller events. US Senator Lindsey Graham, a adjacent Trump ally, posted connected X connected Tuesday his enactment for the SDF.

“You cannot unite Syria by the usage of subject unit arsenic Syrian authorities person Ahmed Al-Sharaa is trying to do,” helium wrote. “This determination by Syrian authorities forces against SDF members is fraught with peril.”

Graham and others whitethorn beryllium acrophobic astir reports of 39 escaped ISIL detainees from prisons antecedently held by the SDF, or, connected the different side, SDF claims that authorities forces killed pistillate Kurdish fighters.

But the sentiment successful the US seems to beryllium shifting heavy successful favour of Damascus. On Tuesday afternoon, US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack posted connected X that the US was throwing its enactment down al-Sharaa and choosing Damascus implicit the SDF.

“The top accidental for the Kurds successful Syria close present lies successful the post-Assad modulation nether the caller authorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa,” Barrack wrote. “This shifts the rationale for the US-SDF partnership: the archetypal intent of the SDF arsenic the superior anti-ISIS unit connected the crushed has mostly expired, arsenic Damascus is present some consenting and positioned to instrumentality implicit information responsibilities, including power of ISIS detention facilities and camps.”

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