Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on Monday to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a countrywide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns.
“It’s a good start for now, but we have to understand that we got to protect that Kurds as well. I want to make sure that their interests are protected, but right now, it’s a good start,” Republican Abraham Hamadeh of Arizona told Rudaw.
Hamadeh, whose parents are from Syria and has Kurdish ancestry, stressed that Washington “has a vital role in protecting our allies like the Kurds, who were there with us against the fight against ISIS [Islamic State].”
The US is the primary backer of the SDF, who fought the lion’s share of the battle to drive ISIS out of Syria and arrested thousands of the group’s fighters. The Kurdish-led force holds around 10,000 ISIS prisoners and more than 40,000 people, mostly wives and children of ISIS militants, at the al-Hol camp in Hasaka.
The SDF is the de facto army of Rojava.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), which serves as the SDF’s political wing, told Rudaw on Tuesday that the deal was mediated by international actors, mainly the US.
Following a swift offensive, a coalition of rebel groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - headed by Sharaa - on December 8 toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime. Sharaa was in late January appointed as Syria’s interim President.
After his appointment, Sharaa vowed to uphold the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. However, the international community has repeatedly censured the new Damascus leadership for its treatment of Syria’s minority groups.
