Will the deal between Damascus and Syria’s Kurds help achieve national reconciliation?

Syrians gathered in Damascus on March 15 to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the uprising against Bashar Assad. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 19 March 2025
Follow

Will the deal between Damascus and Syria’s Kurds help achieve national reconciliation?

  • In a step toward national unity, the Syrian interim government and Kurdish-led SDF signed a landmark integration deal on March 10
  • Outbreak of violence against Alawites has raised concerns among Kurds about Syrian militias’ commitment to minority rights

LONDON: In a bid to unify the Syrian Arab Republic, the interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces signed a landmark deal on March 10. The enactment remains uncertain, though, particularly after the recent constitutional declaration.

Aimed at integrating all military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, the deal comes at a critical time as President Ahmad Al-Sharaa seeks legitimacy amid growing international scrutiny over the killings of minority Alawites by allied militias.

If enacted, the agreement “could significantly reshape Syria’s post-war landscape,” Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News.

“The timing is key,” he said. “The deal comes as Syria faces major security challenges, including recent massacres on the coast and Israeli interventions in the south. These pressures likely pushed Damascus to sign the agreement.”

Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based Kurdish affairs analyst, says signing the deal with SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi allows Al-Sharaa “to present himself as a leader committed to ensuring all identities are represented in Syria’s future.”

According to Civiroglu, Abdi is “a highly respected figure not only among Kurds but also across other communities, such as the Alawites, Druze, and Christians.”




Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa signed an integration deal with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi on March 10. (SANA)

Kurdish groups, united under the umbrella of the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), have condemned the recent attacks on Alawites — the ethno-religious group from which the Assad family traces its roots.

Abdi described the attacks as part of a “systematic campaign against Syria’s minorities.” He told Reuters news agency that Al-Sharaa must “intervene to halt the massacres.”

On March 6, the deadliest bloodshed since Bashar Assad’s fall in December began when Assad loyalists ambushed security forces in Jableh, Latakia province, killing 13. The attack set off a wave of reprisals, with revenge killings targeting Alawite civilians.

Violence escalated further on March 9 as clashes reignited in Banias, also in Latakia, when security forces came under attack at a power plant. Within days, at least 1,300 people, including 973 civilians, were killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Against this backdrop, Rami Abdulrahman, head of the SOHR, told a Kurdish news channel that tens of thousands of Alawites who had fled the violence on the coast for the safety of the mountains believe an SDF presence in their areas could provide a “safe haven.”




Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attending a funeral ceremony. (AFP/File)

The Damascus-SDF deal, set for implementation by the end of the year, recognizes that “the Kurdish community is indigenous to the Syrian state,” guaranteeing “its right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights,” according to a presidential statement.

It also mandates a complete cessation of hostilities in SDF-controlled areas, which have been under attack by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army since Dec. 8, when a Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham-led coalition ousted the Assad regime.

“For Syrian Kurds in Rojava — Kurdish Syria — the agreement guarantees recognition of their rights, something they lacked under Assad before the war,” said Hawach of the International Crisis Group.

The deal also includes economic benefits for both sides.

Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says oil is a key part of the agreement and “will be key to raising revenue for the new Syria.”

The interim government “will gain full control over the oil fields, which is a triumph, but the Kurds will get half the proceeds, which was a win for them,” he told Arab News.

“This will allow the government to hire foreign oil companies to repair Syria’s dilapidated industry and energy infrastructure. Syria needs major foreign investment in its energy sector, which was impossible so long as control over the oil region was contested.”




A fighter affiliated with Syria's new administration chats with a woman on the street in the Al-Shalaan area in central Damascus. (AFP)

Syria’s oil industry is in a dire state, with production plummeting from pre-war levels of up to 400,000 barrels per day to as little as 80,000, according to S&P Global, a financial intelligence and analytics firm.

Years of conflict, sanctions, and damaged infrastructure have crippled the sector, leaving Syria heavily reliant on imports. Reviving oil production is seen as critical to funding the country’s reconstruction, which could cost up to $400 billion.

Reinforcing Landis’ argument, Hawach said the deal’s implementation could “provide economic benefits — as the northeast is Syria’s most resource-rich region — and open the door for joint efforts with Damascus against (Daesh).”

He added: “For Syrians under the HTS-led administration, the deal marks a major step toward national reintegration. The return of 30 percent of Syria under Damascus’ control, after over a decade of fragmentation, could improve governance, service delivery, and economic stability.”

The move, seen as a step toward national reconciliation after 14 years of conflict, has been welcomed by the UN and regional and Western countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, France, Germany, and Canada.

However, Hawach stressed that the agreement’s success hinges on how the parties resolve the still undecided practical aspects of reintegration.

Landis agrees that while the deal “gives a degree of autonomy to northeastern Syria” and sets out key principles, it is “not a fully worked-out plan,” he said.

“Many of the thorny details will have to be worked out in the future,” he added.

Landis pointed out that “a key element is the military,” explaining that “the Kurds insisted on having their own force, resident in the northeast.”




People walk on a busy street of the Druze-majority Jaramana city in the Damascus countrysid (AFP)

Under the accord, the SDF must integrate into the Syrian Defense Ministry and cede control of all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeastern semi-autonomous region it has controlled since 2015.

“There has been a compromise in that the SDF will be placed under the Ministry of Defense, but only regional forces will be placed in the northeast,” said Landis. “How this will all work out is not clear.

“The Kurds are clearly hoping for something similar to the arrangement in Iraq, where in essence they have their own mini ministry of defense,” he added.

In Iraq, the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs oversees the Kurdistan Region’s own armed forces, which are responsible for protecting the semi-autonomous territory’s borders, land and sovereignty.

Landis said Syria’s interim president “does not want to accord the minorities autonomy,” adding that “he has stated that Syria will have a centralized state.”




People walk on a street in the town of Douma, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. (AFP)

Furthermore, “the new constitution makes no mention of a special arrangement for the Kurds,” he added.

On March 13, Al-Sharaa signed a temporary constitution establishing Islamist rule in Syria for a five-year transitional period. The following day, the SDF’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, rejected the constitutional declaration and called for it to be redrafted.

The council argued that the temporary constitution “reintroduces authoritarianism” by centralizing power and granting unchecked authority to the executive.

“The SDC strongly rejects any attempt to recreate dictatorship under the guise of a ‘transitional phase.’ Any constitutional declaration must be the result of genuine national consensus, not a project imposed by one party.”

The council called for “a complete reformulation of the declaration” to “ensure a fair distribution of power, guarantee freedom of political activity, and recognize the rights of all Syrian components.”

 


At least 70 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health authorities say

Updated 52 min 33 sec ago
Follow

At least 70 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health authorities say

  • Medics say Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip
  • Since Tuesday, airstrikes have killed 510 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children

GAZA/CAIRO: At least 70 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, after Israel resumed its bombing campaign on the enclave, a Gaza health official said.

Medics said Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said its forces had resumed ground operations in central and southern Gaza, after a ceasefire that had broadly held since January collapsed.

The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023.

Since Tuesday, airstrikes have killed 510 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children, the health official said.

The Israeli military said its operations extended Israel’s control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a “focused” maneuver aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said the ground operation and the incursion into the Netzarim Corridor were a “new and dangerous violation” of the two-month-old ceasefire agreement. In a statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to the deal and called on mediators to “assume their responsibilities.”

Palestinian mourners pray over the bodies of victims of overnight Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip at Al-Ahli Arab hospital, also known as the Baptist hospital, in Gaza City ahead of their burial on March 18, 2025. (AFP)

Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, a Hamas official said mediators had stepped up their efforts with the two warring sides but added that “no breakthrough has yet been made.”

The group has made no clear threats to retaliate.

The war started after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

Activists gather on Wall Street in front of a property owned by President Donald Trump following renewed attacks on Gaza by Israel on March 19, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)

More than 49,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s health authorities, with the enclave reduced to rubble.


Sudan TV says army close to taking control of Presidential Palace from paramilitary RSF group

Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

Sudan TV says army close to taking control of Presidential Palace from paramilitary RSF group

  • Marks a significant shift in the two-year-old conflict that threatens to fracture the country
  • The war has led to what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis

DUBAI: Sudan’s state TV said on Thursday that the army is close to taking control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, marking a significant shift in the two-year-old conflict that threatens to fracture the country.
Late on Wednesday, heavy clashes erupted near the palace, with explosions heard and airstrikes by the army targeting central Khartoum, witnesses and military sources said.
After nearly two years of war, the RSF controls most of the west of Sudan and parts of the capital Khartoum, but has been losing ground in central Sudan to the army.
The two military factions staged a coup in 2021, derailing a transition to civilian rule, and warfare broke out in April 2023 after plans for a new transition triggered violent conflict.
The war has led to what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with both the RSF and the army accused of widespread human rights abuses.


Israel launches a ground operation to retake part of a key corridor in northern Gaza

Updated 20 March 2025
Follow

Israel launches a ground operation to retake part of a key corridor in northern Gaza

  • Israel used the Netzarim corridor as a military zone which bisected northern Gaza from the south.

DEIR AL-BALAH: Israel said Wednesday it launched a “limited ground operation” in northern Gaza to retake part of a corridor that bisects the territory, and the country’s defense minister warned that the army plans to step up the attacks that shattered a two-month ceasefire “with an intensity that you have not seen.”
The military said it had retaken part of the Netzarim corridor, which bisects northern Gaza from the south and from where it had withdrawn as part of the ceasefire with Hamas that began in January.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Palestinians in Gaza that the army would again order evacuations from combat zones soon, and that its attacks against Hamas would become more fierce if dozens of hostages held for more than 17 months weren’t freed.
The move appeared to deepen a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza, which shattered a ceasefire with Hamas.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women, have been killed since Israel launched the strikes early Tuesday. It said another 678 people have been wounded.
The military says it only strikes militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas. Gaza’s Health Ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The military said in a statement that as part of the new offensive, it struck dozens of militants and militant sites on Wednesday, including the command center of a Hamas battalion.
The war in Gaza, which was paused in January by an internationally-mediated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, has been among the deadliest conflicts ever for humanitarian workers, according to the UN.
The resumption of fighting launched by Israel early Tuesday risks plunging the region back into all-out war. It came weeks after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages for prisoners and were set to negotiate an extension to the truce that was meant to bring about an eventual end to the war.
But those negotiations never got off the ground. Hamas has demanded that Israel stick to the terms of the initial ceasefire deal, including a full withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war. Israel, which has vowed to defeat Hamas, has put forward a new proposal that would extend the truce and free more hostages held by Hamas, without a commitment to end the war.


Israel says it intercepted missile launched from Yemen

Updated 20 March 2025
Follow

Israel says it intercepted missile launched from Yemen

  • Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported

Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early on Thursday as hostilities with the Houthis intensified, amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to punish Iran over its perceived support for the Yemeni militant group.
Sirens sounded across several areas in Israel after the projectile was fired, the military said. The Israeli police said sirens were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
“A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol,” the Israeli military said in a statement, referring to its air force.
Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported.
Yemen’s Houthi militants, undeterred by waves of US strikes since Saturday, fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson said in a televised statement.
The group has recently vowed to escalate their attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.
US strikes which began on Saturday over the Houthis’ attacks against Red Sea shipping are the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 31 people.
Trump also threatened on Monday to hold Iran accountable for any future Houthi attacks, warning of severe consequences. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Houthis were independent and took their own strategic and operational decisions.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile toward Israel and would expand their range of targets in that country in coming days in retaliation for renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after weeks of relative calm.
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been called the “Axis of Resistance” — an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.


UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building

Updated 20 March 2025
Follow

UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building

  • “Appalled a UN compound in Gaza was hit this morning,” Lammy wrote on X

LONDON: Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy on Wednesday called for a transparent investigation into an Israeli air strike on a UN building in Gaza.
“Appalled a UN compound in Gaza was hit this morning,” Lammy wrote on X. “This incident must be investigated transparently and those responsible held to account.”