The Kurdish autonomous administration in Syria officially came to an end on Tuesday, after around 12 years, at least in military terms. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced the full integration of the group’s military forces into the Syrian army. Abdi said, “We want this day to mark a genuine transition from the battlefield to construction sites, from the era of weapons to the era of peace.”
The Kurds signed a ceasefire and integration agreement with the al-Julani regime earlier this year, following military defeats at the hands of regime forces. Over the past month, reports of violent incidents between Kurds and Sunnis have declined compared with the beginning of the year and the frequency seen over the past decade. A Kurdish news outlet published footage of earth barriers being dismantled at a former point of tension between Kurdish forces and their rivals.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces bore a heavy responsibility during one of the most difficult periods in Syria’s history,” Abdi said in a speech. “They liberated many Syrian cities and towns, first from Ba’athist rule and later from the terror of ISIS. Today, circumstances have changed, and the country has entered a phase of peace and participation in building a new Syria. Following the agreement with al-Julani and the completion of the integration of our forces into the brigades of the Syrian army, we announce today the end of the SDF’s mission and its dissolution as an independent military force.”
Abdi also said in his speech that “the right to education in the Kurdish language is one of the most important rights that our Kurdish people have sought for decades. The president has stated on several occasions that he is committed to preserving this right.”
The autonomous Kurdish administration of Rojava operated in Syria for more than a decade. It was established under the influence of the vision of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and represented an unusual experiment in democratic, socialist and feminist governance in the heart of the Middle East.
As another indication of the changes taking place in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, regarded as the leader of Syria’s Druze community, made an unusual statement, saying: “We are an integral part of Israel, and we share a faith and ideology with it.”