‘Day of unity’ and the ‘devil in the details’: Syrians welcome landmark SDF deal

PARIS — Syria’s new government reached a landmark agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday to integrate “all civilian and military institutions” in the country’s northeast into the state, a move many Syrians welcomed as a step to prevent bloodshed and move towards a united future.

The eight-point agreement, signed in Damascus by Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, came in the wake of days of bloodshed in Syria’s coastal provinces that sparked renewed fears of sectarian conflict and foreign intervention. 

The deal included a ceasefire and guaranteed Kurds’ rights to representation and equal participation in the political process as an integral part of Syria. 

“Any agreement that stops the bloodshed of men and women in any part of Syria is positive,” journalist Simav Hesen, the advocacy and communications director at Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), told Syria Direct. “An agreement recognizing Kurds and Kurdish identity is a course correction to reach a state of citizenship that is the aspiration of all who believe in human rights.”

Hesen, who is Kurdish, learned of the agreement as she was traveling from Damascus to Qamishli on Monday evening. She hoped it would mark “the beginning of the path to restoring regard for every part of northeastern Syria” and those who live there, areas that were “described as underdeveloped and stigmatized with backwardness under the previous regime, and suffered all forms of terrorism.” 

Why now?

The agreement between Damascus and the SDF was “supposed to be announced before the events on the coast, but military developments delayed it until today,” said Ali Abu Layla, director of the Deir e-Zor 24 media network, who was familiar with the process of the agreement.

The most contentious issues were not included in the final deal, under which committees are to be formed to hammer out the details and implement its provisions by the end of 2025. 

Ayman Abdel Nour, director of the Washington-based organization Syrian Christians for Peace, linked the timing of the deal to “a regional agreement, and the current [Syrian] administration’s awareness of its delicate and sensitive position following American and European statements on what happened on the coast and the reckless actions of outlaw groups.”

Last week, forces loyal to the deposed Assad regime launched a coordinated attack on the new administration’s security forces in Syria’s coastal provinces. In the days that followed, at least 803 people were killed: 420 civilians and “disarmed militants” killed by forces aligned with Damascus and 172 government forces and 211 civilians killed by pro-Assad forces, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR). 

The SDF also had an interest in signing the agreement at this time “to prevent any hasty Turkish reaction, amid many hints from President Trump regarding the presence of US forces in Syria,” Abdel Nour said. The two parties “met with the need for a very swift announcement, canceling the points that were not agreed upon and putting out the picture of al-Sharaa and Abdi to dominate global news agencies.” 

The agreement’s signing also came one day after the US and Russia called for an urgent closed consultation at the United Nations Security Council to discuss developments on the coast, which had left many Syrians worried about the future of their country and the possibility of international intervention. 

Welcoming the agreement

Residents of northeastern Syria—especially in Arab-majority cities such as Deir e-Zor and Raqqa—took to the streets on Monday to celebrate the agreement, which dispelled fears of being cut off from the rest of the country.

In Raqqa, “people celebrated in the streets from nine o’clock at night until midnight, with new Syrian flags raised on cars and people repeating revolutionary chants and songs,” Ahmad al-Hashloum, the director of the local civil society organization Enmaa, said. He described “strong feelings, expressions of internal feelings of joy going back to December 8, the day Assad fell, that were not expressed in this way at that time.” 

Amid the celebrations in Raqqa, al-Hashloum returned in his memory to the city’s history over years of revolution and war. Raqqa “went through several eras, including [Islamic State] IS control over it, then its liberation by the SDF, all the way to Syria’s liberation from Assad’s rule,” he recalled.

“The province has merged with the entire Syrian territory, a step that was delayed by three months,” al-Hashloum said. He described March 10 as “a day of unity,” with “Syria once again united under a single administration.” The moment was particularly meaningful after “three black days the country went through” with “regime remnants’ attacks on the Syrian coast and the painful events that accompanied it,” he added. 

Hussam al-Qass, a member of the media office of the Assyrian Democratic Organization—an Assyrian political party based in Hasakah—welcomed the deal “because it eases tensions and spares the region from violence.” However, he stressed the need to “implement it in full, so peace prevails throughout Syria and the country is one again, with one flag flying.”

While al-Qass, who lives in Hasakah, was pleased the agreement’s text affirmed the Kurdish community and its rights, he denounced the lack of any mention of Assyrians and Syriacs. “It is as if we were not taken into account by those who signed this agreement,” he told Syria Direct. 

He also pointed out “issues that were not raised in the terms of the agreement, such as whether the SDF will be included as a bloc or as individuals, and the future administration of institutions in northeastern Syria,” which are controversial. “Since the devil is in the details, there is a fear that these points will hinder the agreement’s success,” al-Qass added.

Abu Layla is optimistic about the outcome of the agreement, which he believes will “benefit Syria, with all its communities, arrange the country’s affairs, provide security and stability and pave the way for huge projects for Syrians, including rebuilding the country.” The emphasis on Kurds’ rights “like other communities” is also important, he said.

“I am at the peak of optimism. From the moment the agreement was signed, you will see life in Syria improving,” while “foreign projects will be destroyed automatically,” he said. “There is no longer a force that can stand against the Syrian people,” so long as “Syrians cooperate and stand together.” 

The deep rifts driven between different communities in Syria since 2011 are daunting, as highlighted by the latest violence on the coast, but Abu Layla remains hopeful. “I expect the Syrian government to play an important role in intercommunal reconciliation,” he said. 

He also expects the United States, a longtime backer of the SDF, to “play an important role in the coming stage.” 

What is most important is that “Syrians turn to rebuilding their state and regions, after years of economic and security crises,” he added. “This is enough to strengthen the chances of turning the page on the past and bridging the divides that emerged, especially between Arabs and Kurds.” 

‘To prevent bloodshed’

From a human rights perspective, “any agreement that prevents military operations is good, because it means fewer violations,” Bassam al-Ahmad, the executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), said. “Conflicts and military operations always come with widespread human rights violations.” 

The agreement signed in Damascus “did not clearly address the form of the state, transitional justice and citizenship, which is understandable because the two military figures [al-Sharaa and Abdi] and their dialogue focused on integrating state institutions,” al-Ahmad said. Still, “it is a huge achievement.” 

“Our recommendations from the start were to stop the military escalation and begin dialogue, which is the path northeastern Syria requires,” al-Ahmad added. No matter how long it takes to reach an agreement, it is still “better than any military action that may lead to killings, executions, prisoners and displacement.” 

Al-Ahmad described the deal as an “agreement to prevent bloodshed” because it prevents any scenario like the events on the coast, which were accompanied by “hate speech and incitement.” It also blocks the way for “any foreign intervention or occupation,” he added. “The agreement is a fundamental, good step that must be followed by long-term measures” for its success and implementation.

For Hesen, what matters most is the “ceasefire, which I hope will not exclude any part of Syria, whether the Tishreen Dam [on the Euphrates River] or villages on the Syrian coast,” she said. Moreover, it “heads off incitement, racist rhetoric and hate speech against the Kurds that has resulted from years of not knowing them.”

This report was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Mateo Nelson.