Turkish President welcomes deal to integrate SDF into Damascus forces

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday welcomed the landmark deal between the new leadership in Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as a win for “all our Syrian brothers.”

“The full implementation of the agreement will serve the security and peace of Syria and the winners of this will be all of our Syrian brothers,” Erdogan stated at an Iftar event in Ankara, adding that the “full implementation of the agreement” will “serve the security and peace of Syria.”

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on Monday to integrate the SDF into Syria's state institutions.

After a meeting between Sharaa and Abdi, an agreement was reached to “integrate all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli International] Airport, and oil and gas fields,” read a statement by the Syrian Presidency.

The statement emphasized that “the Kurdish community is indigenous to the Syrian state, which ensures this community’s right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights.”

Erdogan underscored on Tuesday that Turkey attaches “great importance to the territorial integrity of our neighbor Syria, the preservation of its unitary structure, and the strengthening of its unity and solidarity."

The SDF is a Kurdish-led group that emerged as a key ally of the US in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

However, Turkey views the SDF as closely tied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which Ankara designates as a terrorist organization, a claim the SDF has repeatedly denied. Turkey is also fearful that the increased strength of Kurdish groups in northern Syria could embolden Kurdish movements within its own borders.

The dispute has led to several military clashes between Turkish forces and the SDF. Turkey has launched three military operations- Operation Euphrates Shield, Operation Olive Branch, and Operation Peace Spring - against the SDF since 2016.

More recently, the SDF on Tuesday reported “intensified attacks” with Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants in northern Syria near the key Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge.

“The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries have intensified their brutal attacks on northern and eastern Syria, committing a massacre yesterday in the countryside of Sarrin, which resulted in casualties of three children,” the SDF said in a statement.

The SDF has blamed Turkey and Turkish-backed militants for a spate of attacks on Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge since December, when a coalition of rebels led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime after taking Damascus.

The dam's strategic location is critical for Turkey and the SNA, as its capture could pave the way for an advance into other parts of northeast Syria (Rojava).

The attacks came after HTS leader and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi put pen to paper on a landmark deal that would see the SDF integrated into the Syrian security apparatus. Included in the agreement is a ceasefire across the country.

Rojava authorities have expressed grave concerns about attacks on the Tishreen Dam, warning that the constant attacks could lead to its collapse and a potential human catastrophe.