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Monday, 17 August 2026dailybeirut.com
World
A senior Syria Democratic Forces commander stated that the group will dissolve and the Autonomous Administration will end within days, as integration into Syrian state institutions and the army advances.
Mahmoud Berkhedan, commander of the Kobani Brigade within the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) and its liaison officer with the international coalition, announced that the SDF will formally dissolve and the Autonomous Administration will cease to exist in the coming days. His remarks signal a major shift in the military and political architecture of northeastern Syria.
Berkhedan told Turkey’s Zaman newspaper that the next phase aims to build “a new Syria” grounded in “one homeland, one flag, one state, and one army.” He confirmed that integration with the Syrian Arab Army has already progressed significantly.
According to Berkhedan, approximately 10,000 Kurdish fighters have already joined the Syrian army, with that figure expected to rise to 12,000. He rejected estimates placing SDF manpower between 70,000 and 100,000 fighters, stating those figures do not reflect current realities.
His statements come amid continued ambiguity regarding the ultimate fate of the People’s Protection Units (YPG). While Berkhedan described the handover of weapons and institutional integration into Syria as “theoretically complete,” no official confirmation of full implementation has been issued.
Earlier, SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi had affirmed that his forces are organizationally separate from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Ankara maintains the opposite position, asserting an organizational and military link between the two entities.
Berkhedan linked ongoing developments in Syria to the weapons-handover process underway in Turkey. He praised steps taken by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
He characterized Turkey’s approach as a “smart resolution process,” saying both Erdoğan and Bahçeli recognized the necessity of including Kurds in shaping the region’s future. Berkhedan added that the new trajectory will have repercussions beyond halting hostilities, affecting geopolitical balances across the Middle East—particularly in Syria, Iraq, and Iran—and warned that ignoring Kurdish participation would not resolve the region’s prevailing chaos.
