ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syria has picked Sipan Hemo, a senior commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as Assistant Defense Minister for the Eastern Region, referring to Rojava (northeast Syria), state TV reported on Tuesday. 

Hemo, born in 1978 in Hasaka’s Derik (al-Malikiya) city, is one of the most prominent commanders of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish armed force that constitutes the backbone of the SDF. 

Throughout the Syrian civil war, Hemo maintained a low public profile. He rose to the spotlight again after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. 

“Sipan Hemo has been appointed as Assistant Minister of Defense for the Eastern Region,” the defense ministry told state TV. 

On January 29, the SDF announced that it reached a “comprehensive agreement” with Damascus to enable a phased integration process of the Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian state after weeks-long clashes between both sides.

The January agreement saw the entry of Syrian government forces into Kurdish-held areas in Hasaka province, as well as the appointment of the SDF-backed Nureddin Issa as Hasaka's governor, and Marwan al-Ali as the province's chief of internal security by the Syrian government.

In late February, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi said that Rojava and the Syrian defense ministry had agreed to form two high-profile committees aimed at expediting the integration process.