Will the merger of SDF with the Syrian army pave the way for unity or raise tensions again? | policy

Damascus- The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, confirmed – in a statement to the Associated Press – his commitment to integrating his forces into the Syrian army, and said that their experiences in confronting ISIS will enhance the capabilities of the Syrian state, and hinted at possible Turkish flexibility towards this integration.

This statement comes in the context of implementing the March 10, 2025 agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, which carried within it ambitions to unify Syria militarily and politically, but it faces ideological and political obstacles that may hinder the achievement of this goal.

The signing of the agreement on March 10, 2025 at the People’s Palace in Damascus – between Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, in the presence of American envoys – constituted a turning point in the path of rebuilding the state, as analysts see.

“Initial understanding”

The agreement includes 8 main clauses, the most prominent of which are:

• Integrating the military and civilian institutions in northeastern Syria into the state structure, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields.
• Comprehensive ceasefire.
• Guaranteeing the rights of Syrians to political representation without discrimination.
• Return of the displaced.

At the beginning of this month, tensions returned between the SDF and the Syrian army in the city of Aleppo, especially in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh. A clash took place for several hours, ending in deaths and injuries. As a result, a new ceasefire was signed on October 7, 2025, between Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Abdi.

A Syrian military source told Al Jazeera Net that Abdi’s statements about the existence of an actual merger within the army are “inaccurate,” stressing that what has been achieved so far is a preliminary understanding to form military committees to follow up the integration process, which will work, according to the source, to evaluate the numbers of fighters, their armament, and their military readiness in preparation for arranging the joining process.

He pointed out that joining will be limited to Syrian members only, and that talk about sharing oil resources with the SDF is “incorrect,” as the resources will go entirely to the state, which will distribute them to all regions, including the eastern one.

The source also pointed out that the monitoring and evaluation committees adopted by the army are not new, but rather a mechanism previously used to integrate other factions, adding that parties within the SDF oppose the agreement and commit repeated violations, especially the Tishreen Dam and Sheikh Maqsoud areas, which prompts the army to respond to the sources of fire.

The agreement and its mechanisms

In his last statement, Abdi said that “SDF leaders and members will obtain good positions in the Ministry of Defense and the Army Command,” noting that the experience his forces gained during the fight against ISIS will contribute to strengthening the capabilities of the Syrian army, and that “the police in northeastern Syria will also integrate with the national security services.” He explained that “the events in Suwayda and the Syrian coast contributed to delaying the implementation of the agreement with Damascus.”

He added, “If we Syrians agree, Turkey will have no justification for intervention, and there is some flexibility in the Turkish position regarding our forces joining the Syrian army.”

On the other hand, a private military source in the SDF explained – to Al Jazeera Net – that the agreement included the Syrian state handing over full control over the crossings, oil fields and civil departments through employees affiliated with the government, and some of them may be from the same previous cadres.

Special source for Syria now:

Unidentified gunmen attacked a checkpoint belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces in the town of Al-Susah in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, with no confirmations yet about any casualties among the checkpoint members. pic.twitter.com/vT7FNuPk6y

– Syria Now – News (@AJSyriaNowN) October 17, 2025

He stated that the SDF will remain a unified bloc consisting of 3 main divisions covering the regions of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Hasakah, along with other brigades. The Asayish forces (Kurdish internal security) and the Women’s Protection Forces will report to the Ministry of Interior within the Syrian Public Security Forces, to assume the tasks of maintaining security in the east of the country.

According to the source, the Syrian state will receive 80% of oil revenues, while the SDF will receive 20% to support the eastern regions that suffer from difficult humanitarian conditions. He added that the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) will be dissolved to be reconstituted as a political party that represents the people of eastern Syria in the next political process.

He pointed out that the agreement includes special arrangements in the Qamishli region and its countryside, which has a Kurdish majority, and some local leaders will be granted administrative privacy.

The agreement is expected to be implemented during the current year, and the military teams operating in the region will follow the orders of the field commanders there, and will be supervised by officers from the Ministry of Defense while maintaining their current ranks.

Türkiye’s role

Observers believe that the events in Suwayda and the Syrian coast, in addition to President Al-Sharaa’s visit to New York and his meeting with US President Donald Trump, contributed to accelerating international pressure on the two parties to implement the agreement urgently.

On the other hand, the expert on Turkish affairs, Qutaiba Farhat, in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, considered that describing Turkish policy towards the SDF as flexible is “inaccurate,” explaining that Ankara is looking at the issue from the perspective of national security.

However, its acceptance of integrating the SDF into the Syrian army reflects intense diplomatic activity aimed at ensuring that no independent military entity remains outside the control of the Syrian state, according to Farhat, who explained that Turkish acceptance is conditional on not granting the SDF independence, which is in line with Ankara’s interests in maintaining border stability.

He added that the recent decline in Turkish escalation may be due to American-Turkish understandings, or promises from Washington to gradually resolve the SDF issue, stressing that Türkiye prefers coordinated political action with Damascus and Washington over any unilateral military intervention.

Farhat pointed out that the integration of SDF will not reflect negatively on its influence in the northern regions, such as Afrin and Idlib, which it considers part of its security and regional depth.

The merger and its consequences

For his part, the Syrian writer and journalist Qahtan al-Sharqi saw that the process of integrating the SDF into the Syrian army faces major obstacles, the most important of which are ideological differences and differences in military doctrine between the two sides.

He explained that the Syrian army is based on a unified national doctrine based on defending the land, while the SDF relies on a different vision of an ethnic and local nature, which makes coordination between them difficult currently.

The writer added that since the signing of the March 10 agreement, the Syrian state has sought a peaceful solution to avoid the clash, but it has not seen progress on the part of the SDF during the past seven months.

He pointed out that Damascus gave the SDF sufficient time to adhere to the agreement in coordination with Türkiye and the United States, but the continued delay may push it to cooperate with Ankara to find an alternative path.

He considered that the SDF is trying to procrastinate through media statements without practical steps, relying on internal movements in Suwayda and the coast that did not bear fruit after President Al-Sharaa’s meeting with Trump in New York, which resolved many of the outstanding international issues.

Speaking about the events of the coast and Suwayda.. Mazloum Abdi reveals the reason for the delay in implementing the March Agreement during his speech to the Associated Press pic.twitter.com/0d1pSveuMa

– Syria Now – News (@AJSyriaNowN) October 16, 2025

Al-Sharqi also explained that the SDF still controls the majority of the oil and agricultural resources on the Syrian Peninsula in the northeast of the country, considering it a financial reservoir that is difficult to give up without real international pressure. He added that internal disputes within the SDF, especially between the Qandil group (the leadership that is based in the Qandil Mountains on the border between Iraq, Iran, and Turkey as a stronghold) and Abdi’s faction, may complicate the implementation of the agreement.

Despite his confirmation of his preference for a political solution, Al-Sharqi did not rule out resorting to the military option if the SDF continued to procrastinate, noting that its previous experiences in repudiating the agreements had previously prompted Turkey to launch military operations in Afrin, Manbij, Raqqa, and Tal Abyad.

He considered that the continued delay – with only media statements – may repeat the same scenario, especially in light of the increasing coordination between Damascus and Ankara.