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We will participate in forming Syria’s new army: SDF chief

Oct. 11, 2025 • 2 min read
Image of We will participate in forming Syria’s new army: SDF chief SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi. Photo: AP

On March 10, Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement that would see the Kurdish-led forces and institutions in Rojava integrate into the Syrian state apparatus.

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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Friday said that the Kurdish-led force will participate in forming the new Syrian army, amid rising tensions between the SDF and the Damascus government.

 

“Syria is witnessing a new situation. After the defeat of the Baath regime, a new Syria is built. A new army is being formed in Syria. As a main force that has had an important position and a major role in defending Syria, in the war against terrorism, in protecting our people, we will participate in this process to build the new Syrian army,” Abdi said during a speech at an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of SDF’s establishment.

 

Founded in October 2015, the SDF is the de facto army of the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), and played a key role in the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in 2019. The force marked its 10th anniversary on Friday.

 

On March 10, Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement that would see the Kurdish-led forces and institutions in Rojava integrate into the Syrian state apparatus.

 

“The SDF will become a strong part of the new Syrian army that is now being formed. In the coming days, we will, as the leadership of the SDF, to implement the March 10 agreement, send our body to Damascus to the Syrian Ministry of Defense, and the process of joining the SDF to the Syrian army will begin,” said the SDF chief.

 

“The joining of the SDF to the new Syrian army will have a great role, and it will be a great force for the Syrian army and will strengthen it,” he added.

 

The territory held by the Rojava administration has been marked by a recent surge in hostilities between Kurdish factions and Damascus forces, with both sides trading blame for the clashes, threatening to derail the March agreement.

 

On Tuesday, delegations from the SDF, led by Abdi, and the Syrian government, led by Sharaa, met in the capital Damascus and came to a de-escalation agreement to halt the clashes.

 

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the SDF, on Friday warned of Damascus’ “repeated violations” of the March 10 agreement and delay in its implementation, renewing calls for a decentralized Syria.

 

During a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani claimed that “the SDF has been slow” in implementing the March agreement, accusing the Kurdish-led force of not taking “any practical steps” to implement the deal yet.

 

The Syrian minister also stated that Damascus’ dialogue with the SDF is “based on one country, one army, and one territory.”

 

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