Syria's al-Sharaa appoints ex-SDF commander as presidential adviser

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed the former commander of a now-dissolved Kurdish-led fighting force as a presidential adviser on Friday, reflecting a rapprochement between the two long-time civil war adversaries.

For over a decade, Mazloum Abdi led the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which aligned with the U.S. to fight Islamic State and seize swathes of northern and eastern Syria during the country's war to create a semi-autonomous zone.

After former President Bashar al-Assad's ouster in late 2024 by a rebel coalition led by Sharaa, Syria's new Islamist-led authorities insisted that SDF-run territory and institutions must be integrated into the state.

The integration process stalled for more than a year, until a lightning January offensive by Syrian government forces against Abdi's fighters produced a roadmap to merge the SDF into the Damascus-based authorities.

Abdi announced on Tuesday that the SDF would formally dissolve, hailing the start of a new phase of "peace and participation in the construction of the new Syria".

His appointment as a presidential adviser was announced in a decree issued by Sharaa. It was not clear whether the role would be purely ceremonial.

APPOINTMENT FOLLOWS YEARS OF DISTRUST

Under Abdi, the SDF and its affiliated institutions introduced governing structures that were co-chaired by a man and a woman in a bid to foster equality.

It fought ultraconservative groups, including Islamic State and al Qaeda's local branch, which was once headed by Sharaa, before he broke off ties with the organisation.

Under the integration, SDF fighters are being incorporated into Syria's Defence Ministry, including senior figures who had been critical of the ruling Syrian administration.

During the fighting in January, leading Kurdish commander Sipan Hamo suggested Israel should carry out airstrikes on Syrian troops. After the integration deal was announced a few weeks later, he was appointed deputy defence minister.

The question of how the SDF's female fighters will be integrated into the nation's armed forces, which otherwise have no female troops, has yet to be resolved.

Turkey, a close ally of Sharaa, welcomed the dissolution of the SDF, which it long accused of links to its own outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group.