Renewed Fighting Between Kurds and Government Forces Threatens Syria’s Unity

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian forces traded rocket artillery fire near Deir Hafir, east of Aleppo, on September 10. While no military personnel were killed, two civilians died and three were wounded. It was the latest in a series of clashes between government troops and the SDF that have brought negotiations between the two sides to a grinding halt. That leaves one of the major issues on Syria’s plate — the SDF’s integration into the Syrian military and the prospect of federalized governance for Syria’s Kurds — unresolved.

SDF-Syrian Government Negotiations Stalled

Despite an agreement to fuse the two forces, signed on March 10, little progress has been made. High-level talks have stalled since July, while negotiators have made limited progress on lesser issues like the status of Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa has rejected all SDF demands for decentralization, stressing that northeast Syria must be under the control of the government in Damascus and insisting that the SDF must integrate into the unified Syrian Army as individuals and not as a separate military bloc.

Sharaa has also failed to address the SDF’s core security concerns, including the threat from Turkey and from within the official Syrian army’s own ranks. Turkey views the SDF’s primary component, the People’s Defense Units (YPG), as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Turkey, a major backer of Sharaa’s government, has been fighting the PKK within its own borders for decades.

Broader Turkish Involvement Risks a Security Crisis in Northeast Syria

To help restrain the SDF, Ankara seeks to strengthen the government in Damascus. The Turkish National Defense Ministry announced it had begun its efforts to train the Syrian Army on September 11, following defense agreements signed between Ankara and Damascus on August 13. Turkey has accompanied these efforts by threatening to attack the SDF militarily. The influential far-right Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli warned of Turkish military action against the SDF if it did not comply fully with agreements to integrate with Syria’s government. On August 7, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Damascus to convince the Syrian government to cancel talks with the SDF out of opposition to French mediation, suspecting France of pro-Kurdish tendencies.

Stability in Syria Requires U.S. Leadership and Vigorous Negotiations

Washington should view the trouble brewing between the SDF and the Syrian government with alarm and renew its efforts to bring the SDF and the Syrian government back to high-level diplomacy. A lack of resolve only offers more leeway for Turkey and other actors to stall and complicate Syria’s internal peace process. Accordingly, Washington should dissuade Turkey from threatening military action against the SDF, as this would only further destabilize Syria’s already-fragile unity.

Warm U.S. relations with both Damascus and the SDF, balanced with pressure to reach a compromise, can incentivize both parties to implement their agreements. Washington should urge Sharaa’s government to allow more participation for Syria’s diverse communities in the political process. All the while, U.S. policymakers should keep SDF demands for self-governance reasonable, allaying Damascus’s fears of Kurdish separatism.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow, and William Doran is an intern. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi and Sinan @SinanCiddi. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.