Politics & Governance
Syrian Kurds hope for role after state integration
Residents of Qamishli, a Kurdish-majority city in northeastern Syria, voiced cautious hope that Kurds will have a role in building a post-war Syrian state after Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi announced the full integration of Kurdish-led institutions into the state.
Abdi, who headed the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said this week that military, security and administrative institutions had completed their integration into Syrian state institutions. He called it “a new phase” and said Kurdish efforts would continue to secure Kurdish rights in Syria's constitution.
The announcement followed a January agreement signed by Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. As part of that deal, Damascus took over formerly Kurdish-held institutions, including management of Qamishli airport and key oil fields, and sent security forces into cities with strong Kurdish populations such as Qamishli and Hasakeh.
Daham Khalo, a 50-year-old car parts seller in Qamishli, said he hoped the move would bring “positive outcomes for the Kurdish people after 15 years of sacrifices and displacement.” Rezan Ahmad, a 51-year-old oil field worker, called the announcement “a step forward” that could let Kurds participate in building Syria and spare the area further bloodshed.
Ahmed al-Hilali, deputy governor of Hasakeh and a spokesman for the presidential team implementing the agreement, told state television that Abdi's announcement was “a very important political step.” But he said it did not mean all administrative, security and military implementation stages had been completed at once.
Abdi did not detail how the SDF and Kurdish security forces were integrated into Syrian state ranks. There was no official comment from Sharaa or his government on the issue in the supplied material.
The integration follows clashes in which the Kurds lost areas they had controlled in northern and eastern Syria, where they had established an autonomous administration after years of war. Syria's new authorities have rejected decentralised federalism, while Kurds have pressed for constitutional protection of their rights and language.
In Qamishli, Kurdish slogans and pictures of fighters killed in battles against the Islamic State group still hang in the streets. Residents interviewed there said they wanted Kurds to participate in state institutions and for the Kurdish language to be preserved in the constitution.
Update
Residents in Qamishli expressed cautious optimism that Kurds would have a voice in building a post-war Syria after the integration announcement.
Ahmed al-Hilali, deputy Hasakeh governor and spokesman for the presidential team implementing the agreement, said Abdi's announcement was an important political step but did not mean every administrative, security and military stage was completed at once.
Residents interviewed in Qamishli said they wanted Kurdish rights, participation in state institutions and protection for the Kurdish language in the constitution.
Qamishli still displayed Kurdish slogans and pictures of Kurdish fighters, while a newer banner read 'Qamishli region administration' in Kurdish and Arabic.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 16:04:33 UTC.
Update
Abdi said the integration of military, security and administrative institutions into Syrian state institutions was complete and finished.
Government forces entered Hasakeh and Qamishli as part of implementation, and Damascus took over Qamishli airport and key oil fields.
Noureddine Ahmed Eissa was appointed governor of Hasakeh in February, and Sipan Hamo was appointed regional assistant defence minister in March.
US troops transferred more than 5,700 Islamic State group detainees from previously Kurdish-controlled camps to Iraq.
The item adds analysis that the integration effectively ends the Kurds' long-held autonomy project in Syria.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 19:57:35 UTC.
Update
Mazloum Abdi said military, security and administrative institutions had been integrated into national state institutions.
The January agreement called for full integration of civil and military Kurdish institutions into the Syrian state.
The announcement followed months of negotiations after the agreement.
The agreement followed clashes in which Syrian Kurdish fighters lost swathes of territory to the new authorities' forces.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a January 16 decree enshrining Kurdish national rights and recognising Kurdish as a national language.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 18:26:50 UTC.
Update
The leader was identified as Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Abdi made the statement at an event in Qamishli in northeastern Syria.
He said the integration was complete nearly eight months after an agreement on the matter was reached.
Abdi announced the start of a new phase.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 17:47:42 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Abdi did not detail the mechanism for integrating SDF fighters and Kurdish security forces into state ranks.
The exact stage of administrative, security and military implementation remains unclear.
The supplied material says there was no official comment by Sharaa or his government on the integration issue.
Source
AFP news report published on .