SYRIA APPOINTS DISSOLVED SDF LEADER AS PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed Mazloum Abdi, leader of the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a presidential adviser, according to state media on Thursday. The appointment was formalised through Decree No 164, signed by Sharaa and published by state news agency SANA. Abdi announced the SDF's dissolution three days earlier as part of an integration agreement with Damascus. The education ministry simultaneously authorised Kurdish-language instruction in public and private schools.

Abdi led the SDF, a US-backed group that played a central role in fighting the Islamic State jihadist group. The integration deal represents a major shift in Syrian governance following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The new Islamist authorities have sought to extend state control across the country. Reports differ on the significance of Abdi's new role: one account describes it as lesser than positions offered in January, when al-Sharaa had proposed making Abdi deputy defence minister and governor of Hasakah province. Abdi is the most senior of several Kurdish figures appointed to state posts; another commander was made assistant defence minister for the eastern region earlier in 2026.

The ceasefire agreement that preceded the dissolution placed Raqqa, Deir Az Zor and Hasakah under central government control and committed the SDF to integrate into the defence and interior ministries under a 14-point plan. US special envoy Tom Barrack described the arrangement as "real integration" that strengthened Syrian sovereignty. One Kurdish unit remains unabsorbed: the YPJ, the SDF's women's units, requested to join the defence ministry but were told the army's structure contains no women's units.