Syria’s Kurds have agreed to integrate their de facto autonomous institutions into the new Syrian government. In return, they have been promised constitutional and language rights.
The Syrian interim government signed an agreement on Monday with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that govern the de facto autonomous regions in the north and north-east of the country.
The deal will integrate SDF institutions into the new government, handing over control of border checkpoints as well as the region’s oil and gas fields to the central government.
While the SDF had previously been excluded from a national dialogue conference due to their refusal to disarm, President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with SDF leader Mazloum Abdi to sign the deal, which is expected to be implemented by the end of the year.
Abdi called the accord a “real opportunity to build a new Syria.”
“We are committed to building a better future that guarantees the rights of all Syrians and fulfills their aspirations for peace and dignity,” the SDF leader said on X.
Damascus pledges constitutional rights for Kurds
In a statement released on Monday, the presidency laid out the terms of the agreement, saying it expects “the integration of all the civilian and military institutions of the northeast of Syria within the administration of the Syrian state, including border posts, the airport, and the oil and gas fields.”
In return, it said “the Kurdish community is an essential component of the Syrian state,” which “guarantees its right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights.” Many Kurds had previously been denied Syrian citizenship under the Assad regime.
The statement also rejected “calls for division, hate speech and attempts to sow discord” between different segments of Syrian society.
The agreement also promised to grant the Kurds constitutional rights including their linguistic rights, allowing them to teach in their own language.
Who are the Syrian Kurds?
Having suffered oppression under the Assad regime, Syria’s Kurds were able to carve out a sphere of de facto autonomy after government forces withdrew at the beginning of the civil war in 2011.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) dominate the SDF which includes other non-Kurdish groups. They were an integral part of the fight against so-called “Islamic State” (IS) and have been backed by the US for years.
The SDF has shown willingness to cooperate with Damascus after the fall of Assad, but has also been reluctant to lay down arms. Monday’s agreement comes barely weeks after Kurdish insurgent leader Abdullah Ocalan made a historic call for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey to end its decadeslong campaign against the Turkish state.
The YPG is generally considered to be an offshoot of the PKK and Turkish forces have made regular forays across the border. It remains to be seen how Sharaa, whose Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has Turkish backing, will mediate between the two sides.
Monday’s deal also comes after the interim government faced its greatest opposition since overthrowing the dictatorship. Damascus said on Monday it had ended its operation against Assad loyalists in the Alawite-majority region along the Levantine coast.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 1,000 civilians were killed in the clashes, along with 231 security personnel and 250 pro-Assad fighters.
