Syria’s president appoints ex-commander of Kurdish-led SDF as advisor | Government News
Syrian President Appoints Former SDF Leader as Advisor Following Force Dissolution
By [Author Name]
Published on August 27, 2026
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has appointed Mazloum Abdi, the former leader of the recently dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to serve as a presidential advisor. The appointment was made official through Decree No. 164, as reported by the state news agency Sana on Thursday.
The decision comes just three days after Abdi announced the dissolution of the SDF and confirmed its integration into the Syrian military. As part of this transition, Abdi becomes one of several Kurdish figures to be appointed to state positions, including another commander who was designated as assistant defense minister for the eastern region earlier this year.
While the advisory role marks a step forward for Abdi, it is a less prominent position compared to an earlier proposal from al-Sharaa, who suggested in January that Abdi serve as deputy defense minister and as governor of Hasakah province. The initial intent was to reestablish state control over the provincial capital, which had been under SDF control.
The restructuring of the Kurdish forces stems from an agreement made in March 2025 between al-Sharaa and Abdi to absorb the SDF into the central government. However, the plan made little headway before its year-end deadline, resulting in renewed state military actions in the northeast, which led to the capture of Raqqa and Deir Az Zor from the SDF in January.
A ceasefire that followed this conflict placed Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, and Hasakah under central government control, while committing the SDF to the defense and interior ministries as part of a 14-point agreement.
Despite these developments, one Kurdish-led faction, the YPJ—women’s units affiliated with the SDF—has not yet been integrated. The YPJ has sought to join the defense ministry but was informed that the military’s structure did not include units for women.
In addition to military reforms, al-Sharaa issued a decree in January that recognized Kurdish as a national language and restored citizenship rights to Syrian Kurds. This marks the first formal acknowledgment of Kurdish rights since Syria gained independence in 1946.
The dissolution of the SDF leaves the Syrian government with formal authority over nearly all of the country’s territory, fulfilling a key promise of al-Sharaa to unify Syria, a commitment made following the overthrow of former leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
