The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main US partner in the fight against the Islamic State, has announced its dissolution as an independent military force after completing an integration process with Syria's armed forces.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi made the announcement Tuesday at the presidential palace in Damascus alongside Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The SDF had previously controlled a de facto autonomous area across much of northeastern Syria, but lost most of its territory during a government offensive in January. The group subsequently agreed to a deal with Damascus providing for its integration into state institutions and recognition of Kurdish cultural, civil and educational rights.
"Today, we stand at a historic moment in which we turn an important page in Syria's history and begin to open a new page titled peace, stability and reconstruction," Abdi said.
He said the SDF's role had been shaped by one of the most difficult periods in Syria's history, but that the country had now entered a new phase.
"We want this day to be the beginning of a true transition from the battlefields to the fields of construction, and from the era of weapons to the era of peace," Abdi said.
