ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has officially appointed Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as presidential adviser, a decree shared by state media late Thursday showed. This comes days after the chief of the Kurdish-led force announced its disbandment, declaring its mission complete.
Sharaa “issued Decree No. 164 of 2026” appointing Abdi as “an adviser to the presidency of the republic,” the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported, publishing a copy of the document. The decree contained two provisions; one formalizing the appointment, and another stating that “this decree shall be published and communicated to whomever is required to implement it.”
Abdi had on Tuesday announced the dissolution of the SDF following a meeting with Sharaa at the presidential palace in Damascus. The move pertained to the landmark January 29 Agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led forces to integrate northeast Syria’s (Rojava) civil and military institutions into the state.
Later on Tuesday, Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, lauded Abdi’s announcement as “absolutely historic,” saying it would pave the way for “transforming past division into lasting partnership and restoring to the Syrian people the opportunity to shape their common future.”
Barrack added that Abdi and another senior Rojava official, Elham Ahmad, would be "securing substantive roles" within the Syrian government in a manner that "pays due respect to their leadership, the sacrifices of our Kurdish partners, and the constructive contribution they have made to regional stability."
Of note, Sharaa’s decree coincided with Syria’s education ministry on Thursday announcing a new plan for Kurdish-language education in Kurdish-majority areas, making it a mandatory subject to be taught three times a week while ending full Kurdish-language instruction in Rojava.
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