Kurdish militia leader pledges to join Syrian army as pressure on his forces mounts

SDF set to become 'essential part of Syria's new army'

Syrian government forces were on the brink of all-out warfare with the SDF militia in Aleppo last week. AP

The Kurdish leader of a Syrian militia has renewed a commitment to join forces with the new state, after US intervention averted a full-scale conflict with Damascus.

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the group will become “a small but essential part of Syria’s new army”. He stopped short of saying the SDF would disband, according to excerpts from a speech in the eastern city of Hasakah which marked 10 years since the group's founding.

Integration talks will begin in Damascus in the coming days, Mr Abdi said. He added that the SDF, which controls large parts of northern and eastern Syria, “will continue its leading role in the fight against ISIS”. The SDF was founded with US backing in 2015 as a ground component of the war against ISIS in Syria.

The Kurdish issue has been a major sticking point since the new government took over in December, after ousting the Assad regime. The old system fell to forces led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a splinter group from Al Qaeda, whose former commanders now comprise the ruling elite.

The Kurdish issue has hampered Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara's efforts to consolidate control of the country. AFP

The new authorities have secured regional backing but failed to find an accommodation with minorities in the majority Sunni Muslim country. Last week, the SDF and Syrian security forces came to the verge of major urban warfare in Aleppo, and hostilities intensified on other fronts in central and eastern Syria.

On Tuesday, the government announced a truce, after US envoy Tom Barrack met Mr Abdi in eastern Syria, followed by a meeting with Mr Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus.

The SDF had channels with the former regime and helped it capture the eastern part of Aleppo, Syria’s business capital, from rebels in 2016.

A security official based in the Middle East, who did not want to be named, said that in recent weeks the Syrian Defence Ministry has moved armour from Damascus and the central city of Palmyra to Aleppo and to other fronts with the SDF in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor governorates.

Turkey, the most powerful backer of Mr Al Shara, is also a major player regarding the Kurdish issue in Syria. Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Saturday that the SDF “must surrender their weapons as soon as possible and unconditionally.”

A Syrian security delegation travelled to Ankara on Sunday to discuss with Turkish officials “counter-terrorism co-operation”, Syria’s official news agency reported. Turkey regards the SDF as a terrorist organisation and part of the disbanding Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey.

The areas under SDF control comprise the centre of Syria’s commodities, energy and power output. In recent weeks, Syrian officials have accused the SDF of inaction to implement a March 10 merger agreement. The SDF accused the government of solely focusing on disbanding the SDF, without acting on other parts of the deal, concerning Kurdish rights and a non-sectarian political system.