Ahmed al-Hilali, deputy governor of Syria’s Hasakah province and spokesperson for the presidential team tasked with overseeing integration with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), welcomed SDF commander Mazloum Abdi’s announcement on integration, describing it as an acknowledgment of the SDF’s dissolution. He cautioned, however, that “there is a difference between announcing an integration decision and completing its implementation on the ground.” Syrian Kurdish writer and political researcher Ali Tami told Asharq Al-Awsat that integration was “complex and intertwined and cannot be concluded with a statement.” He also challenged Abdi’s assertion that fighters who had come to support the SDF had left the region, noting that thousands of foreign fighters and remnants of the former regime remained in Hasakah. Al-Hilali and Abdi attended celebrations Thursday marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Qamishli. In a speech, Abdi announced the “completion of the military, security and administrative integration” of his forces into Syrian state institutions under the January 29 agreement. Late Thursday, al-Hilali told Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya television that Abdi’s remarks were “an important and positive development,” viewing them as a clear transition from understandings to actual implementation of integration into state institutions. He explained that the announcement would translate into practical measures, including unifying institutions and administrative authority and restoring the state’s full powers, ensuring unified decision-making and Syrian sovereignty. Abdi's remarks were aimed at ending “dual structures and parallel entities” and establishing “one state, one army and unified institutions,” he added. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi meet in Damascus earlier in August. (SANA) Implementation Al-Hilali stressed that the issue could not be considered definitively resolved through statements alone. “What was announced, together with earlier steps, such as removing partisan symbols and flags from institutions and public squares, confirms that the process is moving forward,” he noted. While describing the announcement as a highly significant political step, he emphasized that it did not mean all stages of administrative, security and military implementation had been completed. The objective now is to turn the decisions into a fully institutionalized reality in which Syrian state institutions become the sole authority, all institutions and bodies return to the state framework, and security, military and administrative decision-making is unified, he explained. In separate remarks carried by Syria TV, al-Hilali said Abdi’s declaration that military and security integration had been completed as an acknowledgment of the SDF’s dissolution. Integration declared complete Abdi announced that the integration of military, service and administrative institutions into national state institutions had been completed and that “from now on, a new process begins.” In areas formerly under the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, new institutions are being established in the name of the Syrian state while existing institutions will continue operating, he explained, urging residents to protect them. Abdi also announced that forces from other “parts of Kurdistan” that had supported the SDF during Syria’s civil war had withdrawn under an agreement and at the SDF’s own request, an apparent reference to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters. Tami remained skeptical, arguing that the SDF had not formally announced its dissolution and that integration was too complicated to be settled by statements alone. He maintained that the PKK controls the SDF and regards it as one of its instruments in confronting Türkiye, making it unlikely that the group would surrender its weapons before the direction of the peace process in Türkiye becomes clearer. “In principle, we all support sparing the region further bloodshed, and integration is possible, but unfortunately the chances of success are very slim,” Tami lamented. He also dismissed Abdi’s assertion that Kurdish forces that previously assisted the SDF had left the region as “illogical,” pointing to thousands of foreign fighters and former regime remnants still in Hasakah. With efforts underway to ease tensions, integration continues to face major difficulties and challenges, he remarked. SDF fighters in Ain al-Arab. (Reuters file) From Autonomous Administration to integration The Autonomous Administration traces its origins to the Kurdish Supreme Committee, formed by Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council following the July 12, 2012, Erbil agreement. Its armed structures included the People’s Protection Units (YPG), Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and Asayish security forces, followed in 2015 by the Kurdish-dominated SDF. The administration expanded between 2014 and 2023, accompanied by growth in its military, security and civilian institutions, which employ tens of thousands. The SDF lost a significant portion of its territory during nearly two weeks of clashes with the Syrian army in late 2025 and early 2026, followed by the January 29 agreement. The accord provides for a ceasefire and gradual integration of Kurdish-established military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, the handover of border crossings and oil and gas fields, and the departure of foreign fighters. In July, residents in Hasakah mobilized for several days to demand that the state extend its authority across the entire province, allow displaced people to return to their towns and villages, and end SDF dominance and its abuses against residents.
