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- In a step toward national unity, the Syrian interim government and Kurdish-led SDF signed a landmark integration deal on March 10
- Outbreak of violence against Alawites has raised concerns among Kurds about Syrian militias鈥� commitment to minority rights
LONDON: In a bid to unify the Syrian Arab Republic, the interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces signed a landmark deal on March 10. The enactment remains uncertain, though, particularly after the recent constitutional declaration.
Aimed at integrating all military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, the deal comes at a critical time as President Ahmad Al-Sharaa seeks legitimacy amid growing international scrutiny over the killings of minority Alawites by allied militias.
If enacted, the agreement 鈥渃ould significantly reshape Syria鈥檚 post-war landscape,鈥� Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News.
鈥淭he timing is key,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he deal comes as Syria faces major security challenges, including recent massacres on the coast and Israeli interventions in the south. These pressures likely pushed Damascus to sign the agreement.鈥�
Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based Kurdish affairs analyst, says signing the deal with SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi allows Al-Sharaa 鈥渢o present himself as a leader committed to ensuring all identities are represented in Syria鈥檚 future.鈥�
According to Civiroglu, Abdi is 鈥渁 highly respected figure not only among Kurds but also across other communities, such as the Alawites, Druze, and Christians.鈥�
Syria鈥檚 interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa signed an integration deal with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi on March 10. (SANA)
Kurdish groups, united under the umbrella of the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), have condemned the recent attacks on Alawites 鈥� the ethno-religious group from which the Assad family traces its roots.
Abdi described the attacks as part of a 鈥渟ystematic campaign against Syria鈥檚 minorities.鈥� He told Reuters news agency that Al-Sharaa must 鈥渋ntervene to halt the massacres.鈥�
On March 6, the deadliest bloodshed since Bashar Assad鈥檚 fall in December began when Assad loyalists ambushed security forces in Jableh, Latakia province, killing 13. The attack set off a wave of reprisals, with revenge killings targeting Alawite civilians.
Violence escalated further on March 9 as clashes reignited in Banias, also in Latakia, when security forces came under attack at a power plant. Within days, at least 1,300 people, including 973 civilians, were killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Against this backdrop, Rami Abdulrahman, head of the SOHR, told a Kurdish news channel that tens of thousands of Alawites who had fled the violence on the coast for the safety of the mountains believe an SDF presence in their areas could provide a 鈥渟afe haven.鈥�
Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attending a funeral ceremony. (AFP/File)
The Damascus-SDF deal, set for implementation by the end of the year, recognizes that 鈥渢he Kurdish community is indigenous to the Syrian state,鈥� guaranteeing 鈥渋ts right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights,鈥� according to a presidential statement.
It also mandates a complete cessation of hostilities in SDF-controlled areas, which have been under attack by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army since Dec. 8, when a Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham-led coalition ousted the Assad regime.
鈥淔or Syrian Kurds in Rojava 鈥� Kurdish Syria 鈥� the agreement guarantees recognition of their rights, something they lacked under Assad before the war,鈥� said Hawach of the International Crisis Group.
The deal also includes economic benefits for both sides.
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says oil is a key part of the agreement and 鈥渨ill be key to raising revenue for the new Syria.鈥�
The interim government 鈥渨ill gain full control over the oil fields, which is a triumph, but the Kurds will get half the proceeds, which was a win for them,鈥� he told Arab News.
鈥淭his will allow the government to hire foreign oil companies to repair Syria鈥檚 dilapidated industry and energy infrastructure. Syria needs major foreign investment in its energy sector, which was impossible so long as control over the oil region was contested.鈥�
A fighter affiliated with Syria's new administration chats with a woman on the street in the Al-Shalaan area in central Damascus. (AFP)
Syria鈥檚 oil industry is in a dire state, with production plummeting from pre-war levels of up to 400,000 barrels per day to as little as 80,000, according to S&P Global, a financial intelligence and analytics firm.
Years of conflict, sanctions, and damaged infrastructure have crippled the sector, leaving Syria heavily reliant on imports. Reviving oil production is seen as critical to funding the country鈥檚 reconstruction, which could cost up to $400 billion.
Reinforcing Landis鈥� argument, Hawach said the deal鈥檚 implementation could 鈥減rovide economic benefits 鈥� as the northeast is Syria鈥檚 most resource-rich region 鈥� and open the door for joint efforts with Damascus against (Daesh).鈥�
He added: 鈥淔or Syrians under the HTS-led administration, the deal marks a major step toward national reintegration. The return of 30 percent of Syria under Damascus鈥� control, after over a decade of fragmentation, could improve governance, service delivery, and economic stability.鈥�
The move, seen as a step toward national reconciliation after 14 years of conflict, has been welcomed by the UN and regional and Western countries, including 黑料社区, Jordan, France, Germany, and Canada.
However, Hawach stressed that the agreement鈥檚 success hinges on how the parties resolve the still undecided practical aspects of reintegration.
Landis agrees that while the deal 鈥済ives a degree of autonomy to northeastern Syria鈥� and sets out key principles, it is 鈥渘ot a fully worked-out plan,鈥� he said.
鈥淢any of the thorny details will have to be worked out in the future,鈥� he added.
Landis pointed out that 鈥渁 key element is the military,鈥� explaining that 鈥渢he Kurds insisted on having their own force, resident in the northeast.鈥�
People walk on a busy street of the Druze-majority Jaramana city in the Damascus countrysid (AFP)
Under the accord, the SDF must integrate into the Syrian Defense Ministry and cede control of all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeastern semi-autonomous region it has controlled since 2015.
鈥淭here has been a compromise in that the SDF will be placed under the Ministry of Defense, but only regional forces will be placed in the northeast,鈥� said Landis. 鈥淗ow this will all work out is not clear.
鈥淭he Kurds are clearly hoping for something similar to the arrangement in Iraq, where in essence they have their own mini ministry of defense,鈥� he added.
In Iraq, the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs oversees the Kurdistan Region鈥檚 own armed forces, which are responsible for protecting the semi-autonomous territory鈥檚 borders, land and sovereignty.
Landis said Syria鈥檚 interim president 鈥渄oes not want to accord the minorities autonomy,鈥� adding that 鈥渉e has stated that Syria will have a centralized state.鈥�
People walk on a street in the town of Douma, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. (AFP)
Furthermore, 鈥渢he new constitution makes no mention of a special arrangement for the Kurds,鈥� he added.
On March 13, Al-Sharaa signed a temporary constitution establishing Islamist rule in Syria for a five-year transitional period. The following day, the SDF鈥檚 political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, rejected the constitutional declaration and called for it to be redrafted.
The council argued that the temporary constitution 鈥渞eintroduces authoritarianism鈥� by centralizing power and granting unchecked authority to the executive.
鈥淭he SDC strongly rejects any attempt to recreate dictatorship under the guise of a 鈥榯ransitional phase.鈥� Any constitutional declaration must be the result of genuine national consensus, not a project imposed by one party.鈥�
The council called for 鈥渁 complete reformulation of the declaration鈥� to 鈥渆nsure a fair distribution of power, guarantee freedom of political activity, and recognize the rights of all Syrian components.鈥�