Syrian President Appoints Ex-SDF Commander as New Advisor

Syrian President Appoints Kurdish Leader as Presidential Advisor

In a move announced on Thursday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has appointed Mazloum Abdi, the former commander of the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a presidential advisor. According to Decree No 164 issued by al-Sharaa, Abdi will serve in this capacity “as an advisor to the Presidency of the Republic”.

This appointment comes three days after Abdi announced the dissolution of the SDF and its integration with the Syrian military. The decision marks the latest development in the ongoing efforts to reunify Syria under state control.

Abdi is among several Kurdish figures who have been appointed to state positions, including an assistant defence minister for the eastern region earlier this year. In January, al-Sharaa had proposed making Abdi deputy defence minister and nominating him as governor of Hasakah province, but these plans were not implemented.

The SDF was a key force in Syria’s northeast, with its dissolution leaving Damascus with formal authority over almost all Syrian territory. The group’s integration into the central government has been a long-standing goal for al-Sharaa, who has promised to reunify the country since his assumption of power in December 2024.

In January, al-Sharaa also issued a decree recognising Kurdish as a national language and restoring citizenship to Syria Kurds, marking the first formal recognition of Kurdish rights since Syria’s independence in 1946.

Source: Al Jazeera