As Damascus and the SDF inch towards integration, is northeastern Syria heading for unified state institutions, “complementary integration,” or a revival of divided influence?
A four-day ceasefire marks the latest effort to integrate SDF and Syrian government forces and avoid a dangerous military showdown, but its success hinges on each side’s willingness and ability to commit to the political process.
Nearly a year after the fall of the Assad regime, some in SDF-held northeastern Syria await a “liberation” of their own amid an uptick in arbitrary arrests, including for supporting the new government.
