Syria's president appoints former SDF commander as adviser in shift toward reconciliation
Aug. 28 (Reuters) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday named Mazloum Abdi, the former commander of the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, as a presidential adviser, a powerful sign of reconciliation between two sides that spent more than a decade on opposite sides of Syria's civil war.
The appointment, announced by decree, came days after Abdi said the SDF would formally dissolve and integrate into Damascus-based state institutions. Abdi described the integration as the start of a new phase of “peace and participation in the construction of the new Syria.” The scope of the advisory role was not immediately clear, leaving open whether it would be largely ceremonial or carry real influence.
For more than a decade, Abdi led the U.S.-backed SDF in the fight against Islamic State, carving out a semi-autonomous Kurdish-led zone across parts of northern and eastern Syria. The force set up its own administrative structures, including a co-chair system in which a man and a woman shared leadership posts, and fought ultraconservative groups, including Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked faction that Sharaa once headed before breaking with the organization.
After Sharaa's rebel coalition toppled Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Syria's new Islamist-led authorities insisted that SDF-held territory and institutions must be brought under state control. Negotiations stalled for more than a year, until a lightning Syrian government offensive in January produced a roadmap for merging the SDF into Damascus-based military and political structures.
The merger has already yielded unexpected personnel moves. SDF fighters are being absorbed into Syria's Defense Ministry, including senior commanders who had openly criticized the central government. Sipan Hamo, a leading Kurdish commander who suggested Israeli airstrikes on Syrian troops during January's fighting, was appointed deputy defense minister weeks after the integration deal was announced.
Still unresolved is the fate of the SDF's female fighters, a distinctive feature of the militia, in an army that otherwise has no female soldiers. No framework has been announced for how they will be accommodated.
The political symbolism of Abdi's appointment is considerable. Turkey, a close ally of Sharaa, had long accused the SDF of links to its own outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and has welcomed the group's dissolution. Bringing Abdi into the presidential fold suggests Damascus is betting on inclusion to close one of the most bitter chapters of the war, even as the practical details of integrating rival armed forces remain a work in progress.
(Reporting by Hatem Maher; Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Maya Gebeily and Helen Popper)