Damascus (AFP) – The leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the Washington-backed group at the forefront of the battle against the Islamic State jihadist group, announced their dissolution on Tuesday under a deal with the government.

After being Syria's most highly trained and organised paramilitary force for years, the SDF was promptly dropped by Washington in favour of the new US-friendly authorities in Damascus after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

The forces' leader, Mazloum Abdi, declared their dissolution in a televised speech at the presidential palace in Damascus.

"We announce today the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces and declare, with full responsibility, their dissolution as an independent military force," he said.

Abdi explained that the announcement followed "the completion of the process of integrating our forces into the brigades of the Syrian army".

The SDF was formed in 2015 at the instigation of the United States, which was impressed by the Kurdish fighters who had defeated IS in Kobane in the north and was seeking a reliable partner in the ongoing battle against the jihadists.

The group went on to spearhead the battle against IS, which was defeated territorially in Syria four years later.

The US special envoy to Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, hailed the group's disbandment on Tuesday.

"This is what real integration looks like: not winners and losers, but former counterparts with differing points of view crafting a diplomatic solution to strengthen the sovereign nation of Syria. One army, one government, one state," said Barrack, who is also Washington's ambassador to Turkey.

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