Syrian Kurdish-led forces announce dissolution

LSM reported that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have announced their dissolution, with their fighters to be incorporated into the Syrian army under an agreement with Damascus. The move ends the group’s operation as an independent military force.

Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Abdi said the group’s mission had ended following its integration into the army. Kurdish forces and the Damascus government reached an agreement on gradual integration in January, after government troops rapidly seized large areas controlled by the SDF in northern and eastern Syria.

The SDF had been the United States’ main ally in Syria for years in the fight against Islamic State and controlled a significant part of the country’s northeast. Washington had previously described the agreement to incorporate the Kurdish forces into state structures as a historic step. The SDF’s dissolution strengthens the central government’s control over Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war.