Syria's Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a historic integration deal with Damascus on January 30, 2026—the third attempt since the December 2025 ceasefire—agreeing to phase SDF fighters into national army ranks while transferring oil fields and border controls to government authority.
The agreement, mediated by US and Syrian officials in Damascus, merges SDF's 60,000+ troops under Defense Minister Ahmed Sharif's oversight, starting with joint patrols, followed by full military merger by mid-year. Previous talks collapsed over power-sharing, but Al-Sharaa's transitional government revived them amid economic collapse.
