Syrians celebrate Sharaa-SDF integration deal amid Arab backing

Syrians have welcomed a deal signed by the Damascus government and Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls much of Syria’s northeast, to join new state institutions, the Syrian presidency said on Monday.

Celebrations took place in major cities when the surprise deal was announced, including Aleppo and Raqqa where the SDF has complete or partial control.

Photos showed interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi shaking hands in Damascus after signing the agreement that will see SDF-controlled civilian and military institutions in northeast Syria integrated into the Syrian state.

“We consider this agreement a real opportunity to build a new Syria that embraces all its components and ensures good neighborly relations,” SDF commander Abdi said on X. 

The accord came at a critical moment as Al-Sharaa deals with the fallout from mass killings of Alawite minority members in western Syria after an uprising by forces loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s interim leader condemned the violence against civilians and said it threatened his effort to unite Syria after 14 years of conflict.

However, the agreement signed with the SDF is a major positive step in unification efforts, with Damascus set to regain control of oil-rich areas held by the Kurdish majority group, as well as key border crossings and an airport. 

The deal will eventually lead to the SDF’s military apparatuses being integrated into the Syrian armed forces, but the precise method has not yet been agreed. Until the integration and handover, the deal will see the SDF help Syria’s nascent security forces fight pro-Assad remnants.

The move comes as Al-Sharaa and Syria’s transitional government faced its greatest test yet, with a pro-Assad insurgency leading to the country’s ill-prepared security forces reportedly killing hundreds of civilians in the coastal Alawi heartlands of Latakia, Tartous, and Hama. 

The integration deal with the SDF could take some of the heat off Al-Sharaa and reinforce his message of tolerance towards Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities.

News of the deal was welcomed by Syria’s neighbours and allies in Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 

“[The deal] is an important step toward rebuilding Syria on foundations that guarantee its unity, sovereignty, and stability, safeguard its security, rid it of terrorism, and preserve the rights of all Syrian people,” Sufyan Al-Qudah, official spokesman for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that “the Kingdom welcomes the signing of the agreement providing for the integration of all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria into the institutions of the Syrian state”.

Qatar said it considered the deal “an important step towards consolidating civil peace, enhancing security and stability, and building a state of institutions and law”.

In a statement posted on its account on X, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the need for Syria to have one unified military, saying “the stability and prosperity of Syria require that the state maintains exclusive control over arms through a single army that represents all Syrian components, ensuring the preservation of the country’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity”.

The deal came just hours before Syria state media reported some of the heaviest Israeli airstrikes in months, targeting the southern province of Daraa, with a war monitor reporting at least 17 strikes on positions of the former Syrian army, including an observation platform and tanks. 

After the fall of the Assad regime in December of last year, Israeli forces expanded their illegal occupation of the Golan Heights and began a military occupation of the previously demilitarised buffer zone.

Since then, Israel has demanded that southern Syria be completely demilitarised and has expressed hostility towards the new Syrian government and interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar recently said that world leaders should be wary of the new leadership in Syria, warning that a “jihadist group” was ruling the country.

Israel’s occupation of Syria has been condemned by regional countries with the belief that Israel is seeking to divide the country.

Agencies contributed to this report