Syria Kurdish women fighters discuss state integration

The Syrian Kurdish Women's Protection Units said it had discussed integrating its fighters into Syria's interior ministry forces, two days after the head of Kurdish fighters announced the dissolution of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The YPJ said its leadership met an interior ministry delegation on Wednesday. It said the talks confirmed the possibility of integrating the Women's Protection Units "as a special and organised force" under the ministry, and that meetings would continue to finalise the process.

The group said the talks were part of an agreement signed in January between Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

A Kurdish military source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that 1,500 women fighters would be integrated into an interior ministry force. Former Kurdish fighters are to be integrated into Syria's army, but the military does not currently accept women in its ranks.

Abdi said Tuesday that the SDF's mission had ended and that it would dissolve as an independent military force after integration into Syrian army brigades.

Kurdish women fighters fought against the Islamic State group during Syria's conflict, including in the 2016 battle for Raqa, and later took security and administrative roles at the Al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria for relatives of suspected jihadists.