The commander of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announces that the group is ending its mission and dissolving as an independent military force. Mazloum Abdi makes the declaration in a televised speech from the presidential palace, stating that the SDF’s dissolution happens “with full responsibility.”
Sources link the move to an agreement with the authorities in Damascus, as part of an integration plan discussed earlier this year. Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye describe the dissolution as tied to a deal with Damascus, while Reuters reports the announcement as a “major step” in integrating the SDF into the state framework. All accounts note the SDF’s role in fighting the Islamic State (IS) since its formation in 2015. The reports do not provide further operational details on how fighters and assets are handled after the dissolution, or when integration steps will take effect.
