Though it hasn’t always been an easy process, the integration agreement between the Syrian government and the Kurdish SDF continues to advance, and with SDF chief Mazloum Abdi meeting with a delegation over the weekend, it appears to be picking up steam.
In recent days, the SDF has handed over partial control of several areas in the Aleppo Governorate to the government, and perhaps most significantly have given them effective control of the strategically important Tishreen Dam, along the Euphrates River.
Tishreen Dam is one of two major dams that the SDF and their allies control in the north, and are the source of virtually all the electricity generated in northeast Syria. Tishreen in particular has been a target of offensives by Turkey and their allies the SNA for months now.
The SDF held the dam, though it was damaged in the process. Turkey is said to have believed controlling the dam would allow them to dictate terms to the Kurds in northeastern Syria under the threat of cutting off electricity and fresh water.
The SDF has also agreed to government control over the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud, in the northern part of Aleppo city. Sunday saw the first joint patrols. Under the deal, the Kurdish YPG, which is a substantial part of the SDF, is to exit the neighborhood entirely in the next month, and some of their forces have already gone.
Where that leaves Turkey is uncertain, as the deal has the dam controlled militarily by a joint military-SDF task force, and calls on Turkish-backed factions to withdraw from the area, and leaves it under operational control by a Kurdish civilian group. Turkey has yet to comment on this process.
Turkish-backed SNA forces have been cut back in areas like Afrin, which may suggest the process is proceeding relatively well. Turkey has, however, warned that they won’t stand for any deal that doesn’t totally exclude “terrorists,” which in their parlance generally means the SDF in general and the YPG in particular.
