CAIRO, March 10. /TASS/. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have joined the Syrian new authorities’ security forces, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s office said.
According to it, a relevant agreement was signed during al-Sharaa’s meeting with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi. As follows from the document, "all civilian and military facilities in northeastern Syria will be incorporated into the centralized system of state administration" controlled by the authorities in Damascus. These facilities include in particular all checkpoints in Kurdish territories, an airport, and oil and gas fields.
Apart from that the agreement envisages "a ceasefire across entire Syria and guarantees the Kurdish population "all constitutional rights, including the right to citizenship." The Kurds, in turn, undertake to support the new Syrian authorities "in their fight against supporters of [former President Bashar] Assad and other factors threatening Syria’s security and unity."
The agreement is to be implemented "by the end of this year."
A conference of Syria’s national dialogue was held in Damascus on February 24 and 25. It was attended by more than 600 delegates representing the country’s various region. No representative from the Kurdish autonomy and the SDF were invited. They criticized the conference, saying that the Kurds will not implement its resolutions. Mazloum Abdi said on February 27 that the Kurds would organize their own national dialogue about the country’s future.
Kurdish units control some 25% of Syria’s territory, including larger parts of the Raqqa and al-Hassakah governorates and northeastern parts of the Deir ez-Zor governorate, where oil fields are located. Since 2015, the United States has set up at least nine military bases in SDF-controlled territories.
The Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported on January 6 that Syria’s new authorities demanded that Kurdish units surrender arms. On January 22, Murfah Abu Qasra, the minister in defense in the interim government, said that the Kurds could become part of the country’s future armed forces.