ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hasaka Governor Nour al-Din Ahmed said on Thursday that the integration of official institutions across the predominantly Kurdish province has reached an advanced stage, with about 70 percent of the process completed.
Ahmed told Rudaw’s Nushin Heme that work is continuing to finalize the remaining steps without significant obstacles, adding that the process "simply requires more time."
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) controlled around a third of Syria before forces affiliated with the interim government launched an offensive in January and seized most of the territory. The SDF now controls most of Hasaka province and the city of Kobane in Aleppo province.
The enclave, which was previously much larger and included the Kurdish cities of Afrin and Sare Kani, is known to Kurds as Rojava.
Following deadly clashes, the SDF and Damascus reached a US- and French-mediated agreement that includes integrating Rojava’s institutions into state structures and the SDF into the new Syrian army.
Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa said in a recent interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera that significant progress has been made, but the process is moving slowly.
According to Ahmed, who was appointed governor by the SDF and approved by Damascus as part of the agreement, the integration of employees has been completed in several key institutions.
"In the education sector, around 20,000 employees have been fully integrated into the Syrian Ministry of Education and are now receiving their salaries. In the health sector, around 2,000 employees have been integrated. At the Directorate of Electricity, about 700 employees have been fully integrated, and the process there has been completed," Ahmed said.
He added that the directorates of agriculture and internal trade and consumer protection have been fully integrated. The directorates of culture, tourism and antiquities, the Central Bank of Syria branch, and the postal directorate have also been reactivated and are providing services.
Ahmed said the civil registry directorate has been reactivated, although the integration of its employees has not yet been completed.
When the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on protesters at the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, government forces withdrew from Rojava. The area later came under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which went on to form the backbone of the SDF.
Regarding the province’s administrative structure, Ahmed said directors have been appointed for three of Hasaka province’s four districts and for two subdistricts. A director for Hasaka district has yet to be named.
He said authorities are also working to appoint mayors and executive offices for cities and towns in the near future.
Ahmed said efforts are continuing to integrate and reactivate the remaining directorates, including transport, communications and finance, as well as bank branches.
"We are currently working to activate and integrate the remaining directorates, including transport, communications, finance, and all bank branches. At the same time, we are holding highly positive discussions with the Ministry of Higher Education regarding the future of the universities," he said.
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