Kurdish-led SDF not complying with Syria integration deal, Turkish source says

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is not acting in line with an accord it signed with Syria's government this year to join the country's state institutions, and the recent clashes between the group and government forces damages Syria's unity, a Turkish Defence Ministry source said on Thursday.

Turkey views the U.S.-backed SDF as a terrorist organisation and has repeatedly said it expects the group to abide by the deal to disarm and integrate into the Syrian state apparatus.

"It has not escaped our attention that the SDF terrorist organisation's voice has become louder, empowered by the clashes in Syria's south," the source told reporters at a briefing in Ankara, in a reference to the fighting between Druze and Bedouin forces last month.

"The SDF terrorist organisation's attacks in the outskirts of Manbij and Aleppo against the Syrian government in recent days damage Syria's political unity and territorial integrity," the person added.