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Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agree to integrate forces into Syrian army

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) have agreed to integrate their military forces into the army of the new Syrian government.

The agreement is also believed to involve the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, commonly known as "Rojava", which is the civil authority that rules SDF-held areas of Syria.

The announcement came from the commander of the SDF's Northern Brigade, Abu Omar al-Idlibi, and has been widely reported in Kurdish and Arabic media.

The SDF and the Syrian government had been locked in negotiations for weeks to find a way to peacefully integrate areas of the country not under government rule.

The SDF, which is backed by the US and has been the main ruling force in many parts of northern Syria over the years, agreed to key Syrian government conditions allowing its forces to be incorporated, including the departure of foreign fighters within its ranks from Syrian territory.

The fighters are believed to be those affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which waged a decades-long insurgency against key Syrian ally Turkey, and which has many forces in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Syrian Democratic Union (PYD), which is the main component force of the SDF, is essentially the Syrian wing of the PKK, meaning that this move will bring an end to fighting between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces that have blighted post-Assad Syria.

Other key aspects of the deal are thought to include the full integration of all the security forces and institutions of Rojava into Syrian government institutions and the creation of joint committees comprising all parties to implement mechanisms to ensure the effective application of the provisions.

It was also agreed that displaced Syrian Arab refugees would be facilitated to return to their cities and villages and the provision of suitable living conditions.

The commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, also congratulated Ahmed al-Sharaa on assuming the role of the interim Syrian president and invited him to visit areas of northeastern Syria.

The SDF held around 25 percent of Syrian territory, including many of the richest areas in terms of oil, natural gas and minerals, with many of these areas being Arab-majority areas prior to the war and their conquest by the Kurdish force.

There has not yet been any comment from the US, which materially and physically supports the SDF, including the use of several American bases in the areas under their control.

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