US-Backed SDF Leader Joins Sharaa Regime As Presidential Advisor After Kurdish Force Dissolved
Self-proclaimed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has appointed Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi as a presidential advisor, following the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in an integration deal with Damascus earlier this week.
"President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 164 of 2026 on Thursday, appointing Mustafa Khalil Abdi, known as Mazloum Abdi, as an advisor to the Presidency of the Republic," state media SANA reported on 27 August.
Abdi headed the SDF, an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that was created with US support in 2015 as part of the war to topple the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.
The SDF took control of large swathes of northeast Syria from ISIS, including the country's main oil fields, as part of Washington's efforts to keep Syria divided and prevent reconstruction by Assad's government.
Abdi and the SDF created an autonomous region that also included Sunni Arab majority areas taken from ISIS. However, when Sharaa – a former Al-Qaeda leader – took power in Damascus in December 2024 with the help of the US, Turkey, and Israel, the SDF's usefulness to Washington was diminished.
Sharaa's extremist-led Syrian army defeated the SDF in January 2026 after weeks of clashes, bringing Kurdish autonomy to an end. Abdi announced the dissolution of the SDF on Tuesday as part of a deal to integrate the Kurds' forces and civilian administration into the state.
“Our struggle will continue to cement our people's rights in the constitution,” Abdi stated after announcing the integration. “The integration deal was a major victory for Sharaa, but an end to long-held Kurdish hopes for autonomy,” Saudi newspaper ASharq al-Awsat wrote on Friday.
Abdi has pointed to a decree signed by Sharaa claiming to enshrine the Kurds' national rights and recognizing Kurdish as a national language as a victory for the SDF.
Abdi is a veteran of the PKK, considered a terrorist group by Sharaa's strongest backer, Turkey. The PKK waged a deadly insurgency against Ankara for decades before formally renouncing its armed struggle last year.
In recent years, Turkiye has moved to improve relations with Kurdish parties, in particular in Iraq, as part of its “growing with the Kurds” policy.
Ilham Ahmed tells The Amargi that she and Mazloum Abdi have taken on new positions within the Syrian state.
— The Amargi (@the_amargi) August 25, 2026
SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi has been appointed as Presidential advisor for Kurdish affairs in Syria, while former Autonomous Administration External Relations… pic.twitter.com/dRIiv7WBUx
Because Kurds have significant populations in Syria and Iraq, Turkish leaders wish to use them as a vehicle to extend their influence in neighboring countries in a way enjoyed by the Turks during the period of the Ottoman Empire.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, is a close partner with Ankara. The US, Turkey, and the KDP all covertly backed ISIS during the organization's takeover of large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, including during the genocide of Yezidis in the Sinjar region of Iraq.