The Kurdish-led militia that controls northeastern Syria agreed on Monday to merge with the country’s new government, marking a major breakthrough for Damascus in its efforts to unify a country still wrestling with violent turmoil.
The agreement, announced by the office of Syria’s presidency and signed by both parties, stipulated that the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces would integrate “all civil and military institutions” into the new Syrian state by the end of the year, including its prized oil and gas fields.
The deal also called for the S.D.F. to help Damascus combat remnants of the Assad regime, and outlined “the rights of all Syrians to representation and participation in the political process,” amid pledges by Syria’s new leadership to form an inclusive government after years of sectarian strife.
The timing of the agreement, which came amid violent clashes in Syria’s coastal region that have left more than 1,300 people dead, signaled a moment of reprieve for Syria’s new interim president, Ahmed al-Shara.
Since the rebel coalition headed by Mr. al-Shara toppled the dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, the new government has sought to unify the complex web of rebel groups operating across Syria — the most powerful of them being the Kurdish-led forces in the oil-rich northeast. However, the security situation has remained unstable, and the Kurdish militia has been among the most challenging groups to bring under the new government’s fold.
Syria’s new government has ordered all armed groups in the country to dissolve, and in recent weeks, several prominent militias have agreed to work with the new authorities, but it remains unclear whether all those militias have yet fully integrated into a single national army under Mr. al-Shara’s authority.
There remains skepticism about the new leadership’s sweeping promises to create an inclusive government. As a rebel leader, Mr. al-Shara commanded an armed group once allied with Al Qaeda, and skeptics question whether he has given up his former hard-line jihadist views.
For years, the Kurdish-led militia has been the main U.S. partner in the fight in Syria against the Islamic State, and it made hard-fought territorial gains amid the country’s civil war, to the extent that it now administers a de facto state in Syria’s northeast.
The group has long sought to position itself as the protectors of Syrian Kurds, who make up about 10 percent of the country’s population. It also provides security at detention camps housing thousands of Islamic State members and their families.
But amid mounting uncertainty over Washington’s role in the region, experts said Kurdish-led forces likely recognized their negotiating position was eroding. American support for the Kurdish militia has been crucial to its finances, but President Trump has not yet committed to continuing to support the group on which the U.S. spent about $186 million in 2024.
Despite the breakthrough on Monday, there were some questions that were left unanswered.
For one, it remained unclear whether the S.D.F. would be allowed to operate as a distinct military bloc within Syria’s armed forces, a sticking point in recent negotiations that the government has previously rejected. It was also unclear how exactly the call for “a cease-fire on all Syrian territories” would be carried out as stipulated in the agreement.
Even on Monday, fighting continued to rage in the northeast between Kurdish-led forces and armed groups backed by Turkey, a close ally and backer of the new government in Damascus.
Turkey has long viewed the S.D.F. as an extension of Kurdish separatist insurgents within Turkey who have fought the Turkish state for four decades, but who recently announced that they would give up that fight. Amid dramatic changes in Syria’s political landscape, many Kurds have grown unnerved at the prospect of ending up worse off under a government supported by their longtime foe, Turkey.
But as soon as news of the agreement broke, people in northeast Syria gathered in the streets, shooting into the air in celebration. Especially relieved — and excited about the deal — were Arabs in the Kurdish-led region who have worried for months that their area might come under attack not only from Turkey and its proxies, but also from the central government.
“I am very happy because of the agreement between Damascus and the S.D.F., but we want to be sure Damascus guarantees our rights,” said Faisal Ahmed, 40, an Arab who sat drinking tea in the northeastern city of Qamishli.
Like many who live in northeast Syria and were happy about the news, he said the lack of clarity about the specifics left him uncertain about who would keep the area safe from attacks by Turkey.
“If Damascus is serious about becoming friends, then they should stop the Turkish groups from attacking us,” he said.
Naleen Mohammed, 35, a Kurd, said she welcomed the announcement, particularly now that unrest was enveloping Syria’s coastal region, the heartland of the country’s Alawites, another minority group. Alawites played a leading role in the Assad regime and have feared retribution since it fell.
“It is very good to have an agreement with Damascus — much better than fighting with them,” she said. “We can see what is happening in Latakia with the Alawites, they are killing people and we don’t want that to happen in our area.”
Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting.
