The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, whose dissolution was announced by their leader Mazloum Abdi on Tuesday, were the Washington-backed de facto army of the Kurds’ autonomous administration in Syria and spearheaded the battle against jihadists.
But following January clashes that saw the Kurds lose large chunks of territory to government troops, the two sides signed a deal to integrate Kurdish military and civilian institutions into the state.
The People’s Protection Units denied any links with the PKK, but it was “indeed the PKK that directs the YPG behind the scenes”, Syria specialist Fabrice Balanche said before the SDF dissolution. He also affirmed that, “at our request and according to a practical plan, those forces withdrew from here, and we can say that a new phase has begun in this region.”
Arabs within their ranks also defected en masse after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s army took control of two previously Kurdish-held provinces, Raqa and Deir Ezzor, leaving them weakened.
