BREAKING:  Syrian Kurds strike deal with HTS to join national army

The Syrian government has announced the signing of a deal which will integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the national army. The deal was signed on March 10 by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, an umbrella organization representing Syrian Kurds, as well as other ethnicities residing in North East Syria.   The United States-backed SDF has controlled a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Syria since 2015.   Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from the Syrian capital Damascus, said that the deal is one of the most major developments since the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad at the hands of Syrian opposition forces led by al-Sharaa in December.   [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4B9-dbQDRI[/embed] The Syrian Presidency shared a statement on its official X account, emphasizing that a newly signed agreement upholds the territorial integrity of the country and rejects any form of division. The post included a photograph of the ceremony along with the full text of the agreement.   According to the document, the agreement ensures the participation and representation of all Syrians in political processes and state institutions, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds, based on meritocracy.   A key provision affirms that the Kurdish community is an integral component of the Syrian state which guarantees their citizenship rights and in all constitutional entitlements.   The agreement also outlines several key commitments including establishing a nationwide ceasefire across Syria and territory and integrating all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria under the administration of the Syrian state. Furthermore, it calls for rejecting division hate speech and any attempts to sow discord among different components of Syrian society and ensuring that executive committees work toward implementing the agreement before the end of this year.   The deal marks a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government led by the group that led the ousting of President Bashar Assad in December.   The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey in the northeast, airports and oil fields under the control of the central government.   Turkey maintains SDF is an extension of the Kurdish separatist terror organization PKK, a claim refuted by SDF.  Recently, PKK’s imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan called upon PKK to lay down arms and abolish itself. A plea extended to SDF.   The SDF has faced tumultuous regional and international changes, which may explain the timing of the agreement with the Syrian central government.   Under the new US President Donald Trump, Washington has reportedly made plans to withdraw from Syria.   “Syria is its own mess. They got enough messes over there. They don’t need us involved in every one,” Trump said earlier this year.   The agreement may set an example for other minorities in Syria, such as Druze, and anti-Assad militant groups controlling South  West of the country, which act in unison with HTS, but are not part of its command structure.   Assuming the deal is executed without hitches, it may allow Turkey’s president  Erdogan to convene his AK Party, nationalist MHP and pro-Kurdish DEM Party to draft a new constitution, which will incidentally grant him another term to contest the presidency.       IMPORTANT DİSCLOSURE:  PA Turkey intends to inform Turkey watchers with diverse views and opinions.  Articles in our website may not necessarily represent the view of our editorial board or count as endorsement.    Follow our  English language YouTube videos  @ REAL TURKEY:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpFJB4GFiNkhmpVZQ_d9Rg And content at Twitter: @AtillaEng Facebook:  Real Turkey Channel:   https://www.facebook.com/realturkeychannel/