Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has appointed Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a presidential adviser.
State news agency Sana reported that Decree No. 164, issued by al-Sharaa on Thursday, appointed Abdi as "adviser to the Presidency." The move comes three days after Abdi announced the dissolution of the SDF and the completion of its integration into the Syrian army.
Abdi is the most senior among several Kurdish leaders appointed to state positions. Earlier this year, another commander was named deputy defense minister for the eastern region.
The advisory role is lower than the January proposal, when al-Sharaa offered Abdi the position of deputy defense minister and nominated him as governor of Hasakah province, aiming to restore state control over the SDF-held provincial capital.
Al-Sharaa and Abdi first agreed to integrate the SDF into the central government in March 2025. The deal progressed slowly before the year-end deadline, prompting government forces to advance into the northeast in January, retaking Raqqa and Deir Az Zor from the SDF.
The ceasefire agreement that ended the clashes placed the three cities of Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, and Hasakah under central government control, while committing the SDF to join the Ministries of Defense and Interior under a 14-point plan.
One Kurdish-led force has yet to be absorbed. The SDF's YPJ women's combat unit offered to join the Ministry of Defense but was told that the military structure currently has no unit for women.
Alongside the military roadmap, al-Sharaa issued a decree in January recognizing Kurdish as a national language and restoring citizenship to Syrian Kurds, marking the first official recognition of Kurdish rights since Syria's independence in 1946.
The SDF was the largest force remaining outside the military, and its dissolution means Damascus now holds formal administrative control over nearly all of Syrian territory. Reunifying the country has been a central commitment of al-Sharaa since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
