Syria, SDF set to launch integration process under new deal

DAMASCUS

The implementation of a new deal between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is set to begin on Feb. 2 after the two sides consolidated a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and laid out a gradual roadmap for integration.

Under the agreement announced on Jan. 30, security forces affiliated with Syria’s Interior Ministry will deploy to the SDF-controlled cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli in the country’s northeast. The deal also outlines the phased integration of SDF forces into state structures.

This process will include the formation of a new military division composed of three SDF brigades, as well as the incorporation of an additional SDF brigade into an existing government brigade in Aleppo province.

Local institutions operating under the SDF-led autonomous administration in northeast Syria — which has functioned as a de facto self-governing region for years — and their employees will be absorbed into state institutions.

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said the newly signed agreement complements an earlier understanding reached on Jan. 18 by providing detailed implementation mechanisms.

In a statement posted on social media on Jan. 31, Mustafa said integration and handover processes will begin on Feb. 2, with strategic locations gradually transferred to central government control.

He said the Rimeylan and al-Suweidiya oil and gas fields in northeast Syria, as well as Qamishli Airport, are expected to come under Damascus’ control within 10 days at the latest.

The minister also announced that the police chief appointed for the predominantly Kurdish province of Hasakeh would assume his post without delay.

According to Syria’s state news agency, Brig. Gen. Marwan al-Ali — a Qamishli native who previously served as head of the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Investigation Department — has been appointed Hasakeh police chief.

Mustafa said SDF members will be incorporated “individually” into military brigades affiliated with the Syrian Defense Ministry, with the aim of unifying armed forces under a single command.

The SDF lost most of its territory in northeast Syria to a government offensive following intense clashes that erupted in Aleppo on Jan. 6, after months of stalled negotiations over an integration deal.

A previous agreement reached in March 2025 to merge the SDF with Damascus failed to gain traction.

Meanwhile, following the announcement of the Jan. 30 agreement, life has begun to return to some of Hasakeh’s neighborhoods, where markets were reviving and displaced residents were gradually returning to their homes.

As returns to the city accelerated after the deal, commercial activity in the neighborhood’s bazaar increased visibly, signaling a cautious sense of normalcy.