ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have suggested Damascus resolve security concerns in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin as a demonstration of its commitment to building an inclusive national army, an SDF commander said.
"We presented one clear example they could pursue to prepare the ground for the SDF’s integration—namely, the Afrin issue. We emphasized that the return of displaced Afrin residents, compensation for those affected, and holding accountable those responsible for violations are key indicators of the government’s seriousness in building a national army," Sipan Hamo, a member of SDF’s general command, said in comments published by the force’s media center on Saturday.
Hamo is also part of the northeast Syria (Rojava) military committee engaged in talks with Damascus about their integration into state institutions.
Afrin is a Kurdish enclave in northwest Syria. In 2018, Syrian militia groups backed by Turkey seized control. Thousands of people fled their homes and most are residing in the nearby Shahba region. International organizations have recorded numerous human rights violations committed by armed groups against Afrin’s remaining Kurdish population.
The SDF and the interim government appear to have made some progress in talks to implement a March 10 deal signed by SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to bring all civil and military institutions in Rojava - including the SDF - under state control.
Negotiations stalled in the summer as both sides disagreed on how to incorporate the SDF into the national army. There have been numerous clashes between them in northern Syria over the past month. The stalemate appears to have been broken when Abdi visited Damascus to meet with Sharaa last week. A delegation from Rojava is now scheduled to head to Damascus next week to discuss 100,000 SDF soldiers joining the Syrian army.
Hamo said how Damascus deals with Afrin will be a demonstration for the future of the rest of the country.
"We told them that their position on Afrin will be the true benchmark for their stance on other issues in North and East Syria, and in Syria as a whole," he said.
"If you act justly toward Afrin, address the injustices, and pave the way for the return of the displaced, then the interim government can be viewed differently—not only regarding Afrin, but for all of Syria,” he added.
The insecurity in Afrin has not ended with the toppling of the former regime.
When rebel groups, spearheaded by Sharaa’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December, armed forces of the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army saw this as an opportunity to expand their territory in the north, attacking the SDF in Shahba region and seizing control of it. This caused a new wave of displacement.
In the months after Assad was ousted, thousands of Kurdish families began returning to Afrin, but upon return, some armed groups demanded payment for entry, according to Ahmed Hassan, head of the local office of the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC). Some returnees were also arrested, by armed groups on charges of links to the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava.