Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara appoints former SDF commander Mazloum Abdi as adviser

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara has appointed former Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Abdi as a presidential adviser. This move comes in the wake of the SDF's dissolution, which integrated thousands of its fighters into state institutions. The US-backed group had been at the forefront of the fight against ISIS. Abdi's advisory role is a less prominent position compared to his previous one with the SDF.

Other Kurdish figures, including Sipan Hamo, former commander of the People's Protection Units (YPG), and Ilham Ahmed, co-chairman of foreign affairs for the SDF's political wing, are also being appointed to roles within the state. Ahmed is reportedly set to become a member of parliament. The resolution of the Kurdish unit of female fighters remains unresolved.

The SDF's dissolution followed an agreement signed between the group and Al Shara in January, mediated by the US and France and endorsed by Turkey. The agreement aimed to end hostilities between Kurdish forces and the Syrian government, following the SDF's ceding of large areas of territory in the oil-rich north and northeast of the country.

Later that month, Al Shara recognized Kurdish as a national language and granted Syrian nationality to stateless Kurds. The Syrian Education Ministry announced plans to make Kurdish mandatory in schools in Kurdish-majority areas, with most subjects already taught in the language.