Syrian Kurdish leader announces SDF dissolution after its integration into army

by Judy Bello, based on:News from France 24, August 25, 2026

“Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday announced the dissolution of the group in a televised speech from the presidential palace in Damascus. The dissolution followed the integration of SDF fighters into the Syrian military, said Abdi, and represented a major victory for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa”  (France 24)

In fact:

The forces’ leader, Mazloum Abdi, declared their dissolution in a televised speech at the presidential palace in Damascus.    (France 24)

The Syrian Defense Forces (SF) composed mostly of Syrian and Turkish Kurds,  have governed in northeast Syria since the middle of the dirty war on Syria when the United States backed them as military proxies while promising them a large portion of Syrian land for their Kurdish “state” of Rojava.   Perhaps they should not have been so naive as to trust the Americans, but since they are a largely immigrant population in Syria comprising not more than 5% of the total population, one may not feel very sorry for them either.

At the time, they successfully fought back ISIS in the region without ceding the territory they gained to the government of the Syrian Republic.   Like ISIS, they lacked heavy weapons and an airforce, but with U.S. air cover they were able to prevail against the Islamist terrorists,

“The leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Washington-backed group at the forefront of the battle against the Islamic State (IS) group, announced their dissolution on Tuesday under a deal with the government.”    (France 24)

They had continued to hold the oil fields and grain fields in Eastern Syria after the hot war ended his while negotiating with the Assad government over what degree of autonomy they might have going forward.  The presence of U.S. forces on the ground undermined these critical negotiations. Athough they had a certain advantage since the Syrian government was surely negotiating for access to the oil and grain wealth, which was at the time, desperately needed, these negotiations were never resolved, and over time there were skirmishes between the local Arab tribes and the Kurdish governors in the region.   Since the Kurds were a plurality, not a majority in the region, and many Turkish Kurds were among the forces, the local situation was not stable.and there were ongoing skirmishes with local Arab tribes.

A New Government

During the pogrom al Sharaa’s Nusra Front terrorists visited on the Alawites in early 2025, Mother Agnes, an Abbess in Syria with many contacts for negotiation, was able to purchase tons of aid for the Alawites on the coast from the SDF Kurds with money provided by our organization.  The Kurds were most generous, but they were also paid for their offering.  Meanwhile, when mother Agnes attempted to organize a second delivery, Al Sharaa confiscated the goods.  He called her in and explained that the shipment would have to go through his people, and they would take care of delivery (to themselves).  At least she wasn’t executed for her efforts, perhaps because her donors were Americans.

Following the takeover of the Syrian Government by Ahmad al Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammad al Jolani, leader of Al Qaeda in Syria (later, Al Nusra Front) and co-leader of ISIS,  the position of the United States towards their Kurdish proxies in the east began to shift.    Once they saw that they needed to coordinate with Turkish President Erdogan to control al-Jolani, now Ahmad al Sharaa, it became clear they would have to shut down their Kurdish project.

Therefore, starting in 2025, U.S. officials insisted that the Kurds of the SDF join  Jolani’s Nusra Front in the Syrian Army,

Abdi explained that the announcement followed “the completion of the process of integrating our forces into the brigades of the Syrian army“.  “We announce today the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces and declare, with full responsibility, their dissolution as an independent military force,” he said. (France 24)

There was (and is) no trust between Al Sharaa’s government and the Kurds.   When initial talks broke down, they began fighting on the borders of the SDF held territories.   Major battles occurred in Kurdish neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo where the Kurds suffered serious losses.   They had been beating ISIS with U.S, air cover, but once the U.S, withdrew they were no match for the brutal terrorists who now comprised Ahmad al Sharaa’s “Syrian” army.  Following January clashes that saw the Kurds lose large chunks of territory to government troops, the two sides signed a deal to integrate Kurdish military and civilian institutions into the state.

The SDF Could not Rebuff Al Sharaa’s Army Alone

“Since the creation of the SDF, its fighters have shouldered a heavy responsibility during one of the most difficult periods” for Syria, Abdi said in his address.

“They liberated many Syrian cities and towns, first from the Baathist regime, then from the terrorism of Daesh,” he continued, using the Arabic acronym for the ISIS group.  This is only partially true.  Before the Americans adopted them, the SDF including both Kurds and Arabs were fighting ISIS in the northeast, while the Syrian Arab Army was busy fighting them in the more populous west of the country.   However,  Assad’s government was providing the eastern fighter with weapons.

“The circumstances have changed today and the country has entered a new phase characterised by peace and participation.”  Again, we can add “if you are not an Alawite, Druze or Christian or a wealthy property owner.”

The SDF amassed around 100,000 fighters at its peak, both Kurds and Arabs, and controlled swaths of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast.

During the receent fighting, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a decree enshrining the Kurds’ national rights and recognising Kurdish as a national language, an unprecedented step since Syria’s independence in 1946.  Although, Kurdish refugees from Turkish progroms living in the north of Syria mingled with the Arab and Armenian populations, worked at whatever jobs they wished, sent their children to school for free, had access to medical services and generally participated in Syrian society as equals.

Ongoing Problems

According to France 24, Arabs within the SDF’s ranks also defected en masse after Sharaa’s army took control of two previously Kurdish-held provinces, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, leaving them at half their strength, according to Syria specialist Fabrice Balanche.

Apparently Al Sharaa is not popular with the Arabs in eastern Syria and they do not respect the wishes of the United States either.   Many Arab members of the SDF were forcibly conscripted so that their families would have access to the very services listed above that the Syrian Arab Republic (i.e. the “Assad Regime”) provided to the Kurds without restriction.

The Kurdish force faced repeated Turkish invasions between 2016 and 2019, with Ankara saying it wanted to push the fighters away from its border.

Turkiye has long viewed the SDF as linked to the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which waged a decades-long insurgency in the country.  From a different perspective, the Turkish government, has for decades committed pogroms against the Kurds who are a large indigenous population in Turkiye.

According to France 24

The January agreement, under which Kurdish fighters would be integrated into state structures, stipulates that the SDF commit to expelling all non-Syrian PKK leaders and members from the country.   (France 24)

I am wondering whether that means they will be sent back home to Turkiye, or does it mean they will become stateless refugees or go to Iraqi Kurdistan.  Although the first option seems the most reasonable, it is also the least likely since, at present in any case, the Turkish government doesn’t want them.  One might also wonder when it will be asserted that all foreign members of the new “Syrian Army” within which they form a large constituency, will be expelled from Syria.

The SDF’s integration into the state is a major victory for Sharaa, who has been trying to cement control over all of Syria since Assad’s fall.  However, the deal represented the last nail in the coffin for the Kurds’ long-held dream of autonomy.

Last week Abdi announced that the integration of the Kurdish administration with the Syrian state was complete, adding at the time: “Our struggle will continue, to cement our people’s rights in the constitution.”  (France 24)

I didn’t know anyone had any “rights in the constitution“.  However, as you can read in the previous article here, the Kurds have responded with an initiative to return (en-masse?) to Turkiye where their demands for an autonomous region are once again on the table.