Click to see full-size image. (The Syrian Arab News Agency)
In a surprise announcement, Syria’s interim government said on March 10 that it had reached a landmark agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the Kurdish-led group, which is backed by the United States, into state institutions.
Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a statement that the deal with the SDF was aimed at “ensuring the rights of all Syrians in representation and participation in the political process and all state institutions based on competence, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds.”
The deal will also recognize Syria’s Kurdish community as an integral part of the state, according to Sharaa. In addition, the deal emphasized the unity of Syria, and stipulated that “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” be merged “into the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the airport, and oil and gas fields”.
It further guarantees the Kurdish-led group’s support to the Syrian state in combating “the remnants of the Assad regime” and any other threats to the country’s security and unity.
The SDF controls vast parts of northern and eastern Syria, including some of the country’s most lucrative oil and gas fields.
“We consider this agreement a real opportunity to build a new Syria that embraces all its components and ensures good neighborliness,” SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi said in a statement on X.
Executive committees have been reportedly tasked with making sure the agreement is implemented by the end of the year. Nevertheless, it is unclear when the process will begin.
After the announcement of the deal, crowds gathered across the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Tartus, Deir Ezzor and Hasaka to celebrate.
The breakthrough deal came amid a serious escalation on Syria’s coast, where more than 1,000 civilians from the Alawite minority -which former President Bashar al-Assad belongs to- have been killed so far by government forces. The SDF had condemned the killings.
The deal legitimizes the SDF and at the same time allows the Syrian interim government access to the rich resources of northern and eastern Syria. It is however still too early to know if it will be successful. The relationship between the two sides are complicated and Sharaa may have accepted the deal to ease international pressure after the massacres on the coast.
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