SDF Show No Concrete Steps Toward State Integration: Syria’s Information Minister
Syria’s Information Minister, Hamza Al-Mustafa, told Al Arabiya English on Friday that US‑backed Kurdish forces “only in theory” express an intention to integrate into the Syrian state.
The minister lamented the absence of concrete measures to translate those claims into action.
In March, the Kurdish parties signed a landmark deal with the new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to integrate their civil and military institutions into the Syrian state by the end of 2025.
However, the Kurdish-led SDF has been postponing the implementation of the deal due to some differences.
Al-Mustafa noted that Kurdish fighters, including the SDF, were meant to withdraw from Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts.
“It has now been more than 10 months, and the SDF has violated the agreement over 300 times,” he added.
He noted that the SDF was “increasingly” targeting civilians and Syrian army positions as a tactic to affect the negotiations over integration into the state.
Call for Decentralization
In December, SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi stated that they are exerting efforts to safeguard negotiations with Damascus on the integration deal.
He also reiterated his call for decentralization, the same demand he requested in May, when Kurdish parties hosted a significant conference to introduce a unified vision for the country’s future after the ousting of Bashar Al-Assad.
As a major component of Syria, Kurds “must present a solution and a project proposal for the future of Syria,” Eldar Khalil, an official in the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, said.
Moreover, Abdi called for “a new decentralized constitution that includes all components” of society.
In response, the Syrian government utterly rejected decentralization system and refused “any form of division or federalization.” It also urged SDF fighters to integrate into the army.
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