The SDF-Syrian Government Agreement

Translation and Overview

Recently there have been widespread international concerns surrounding the massacres of Alawite civilians in the coastal regions by forces of the new Syrian government. The massacres came in the wake of attacks on the new Syrian government by insurgents raising the banner of the old Assad regime, and were no doubt partly the result of sectarian animosities inflamed by prior incidents like the Baniyas massacre in 2013 that targeted Sunnis.

The fallout from the massacres prompted speculation that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would be reluctant to reach an accommodation with the new Syrian government. However, it appears that ongoing Western mediation between the two sides has helped give rise to an agreement.

The terms stipulated in the agreement would appear to suggest concessions on the part of the SDF, which seemingly wanted to maintain its ‘Autonomous Administration’ as an Iraq Kurdistan-style region: that is, maintaining institutions and forces largely independent of the central government’s command and control, as well as control of resources and border crossings held by the SDF, while remaining officially part of Syria and receiving financial support from the central government. In addition, the agreement signals a rejection of Iraq-style muhasasa (i.e. apportionment of positions on the basis of sect/ethnic quotas). Even so, the stipulation of a deadline of 2025 to implement the agreement suggests that some time is needed for this agreement to come to fruition assuming it is maintained.

Below is the agreement translated in full by me.