The ringleader of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by the PKK's Syrian offshoot YPG, said Thursday that the integration of the group's military, security and administrative structures into Syrian state institutions had been completed, marking a new stage in Damascus' efforts to restore state authority across the country.
An agreement reached with the Damascus government in January provided for the integration of the SDF's military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, following clashes in which government forces regained significant territory previously held by the group.
"I want to say that the phase of integrating military, security and administrative institutions into national state institutions is complete and finished," Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named "Mazloum Kobani," said at an event in Qamishli in northeastern Syria.
"From now on, we begin a new phase."
The announcement follows months of negotiations over implementing the agreement, which sought to bring separate administrative and armed structures under the authority of the central government.
Washington, which has maintained close ties with the SDF, previously described the integration agreement as a significant development for Syria's political transition and territorial unity.
The agreement came amid efforts by Syria's new government to consolidate authority following the fall of the Assad regime and restore centralized state institutions after more than a decade of conflict.
During tensions between Damascus and the SDF earlier this year, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on Jan. 16 recognizing the national rights of Syrian Kurds and Kurdish as a national language, a step without precedent since the country's independence in 1946.
The integration process has been closely watched by Türkiye, which has repeatedly stressed that Syria's territorial integrity and political unity must be preserved and that terrorist organizations should have no place in the country's future.
Ankara considers the YPG and SDF inseparable from the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union.
