Syrian President Appoints Former SDF Commander as Adviser

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed Mazloum Abdi, the former commander of the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, as a presidential adviser on Friday, cementing a major political shift following the group's integration into state institutions. The appointment, announced in a decree published by the state news agency SANA, comes just days after Abdi formally declared the SDF dissolved and its forces fully merged into the Syrian army.

The move is the culmination of a deal reached in January 2026 between Damascus and the Kurdish leadership. That agreement followed a brief but decisive military offensive by Syrian government forces in early January, which saw them recapture significant territory, including the cities of Raqqa and Deir Az Zor, from the SDF. The integration process formally concluded this week, ending the SDF's decade-long existence as an independent military organization.

Abdi, who is also known by the names Ferhat Abdi Şahin and Mustafa Khalil Abdi, led the SDF as its primary ground partner in the U.S.-backed campaign against the Islamic State group. His appointment as adviser is seen as a key step in recognizing Kurdish contributions to...