"This was about [the Syrian government forces] taking control of the most resource-rich parts of SDF territory that had the demographically highest number of Arabs, so they managed to play this very well by having a limited offensive but, at the same time, getting the tribal networks to rise up against SDF rule; and once they did that, it was basically game over for the SDF, Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer at King's College London, told Al Jazeera."
"When the Assad regime fell in December 2024, the SDF was hesitant to throw its hat into the ring with the new forces in Damascus. Negotiations between Mazloum Abdi, the SDF's leader, also known as Mazloum Kobani, and al-Sharaa culminated in an agreement on March 10, 2025 to integrate the Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian government forces. However, details of the agreement were still to be ironed out."
Syrian government forces seized key northeastern territories, including Raqqa and Deir Az Zor, reducing SDF control and boosting President Ahmed al-Sharaa's position. Al-Sharaa combined military pressure with political overtures, including a decree on Kurdish rights, while exploiting tribal networks to undermine SDF rule. US officials shifted support toward al-Sharaa and Syrian forces after those gains, further eroding SDF bargaining power. Negotiations between SDF leader Mazloum Abdi and al-Sharaa led to a March 10, 2025 agreement to integrate Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian armed forces. Details of the integration remained unresolved, and the SDF initially hesitated to align with the new Damascus authorities.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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