Syria Integrates Former YPG/SDF Forces, Restoring State Control Over the North

The collapse of the Assad regime in 2024 left the YPG/SDF as the dominant authority in Syria's northeast, overseeing territory, resources and local administration. By August 2026 the group chose to dissolve its military structures and integrate its members into Syrian state bodies, a decision driven by intensified Syrian government offensives, tribal resistance in Deir el-Zour and Raqqa, and a revised U.S. strategy. Damascus responded with Decree No. 13, which addressed historic Kurdish injustices and paved the way for the YPG's political dissolution.

The integration restored state sovereignty over key oil, gas fields and Euphrates dams, while also prompting demonstrations in Hasakah and Ras al-Ayn calling for the government to assume full control of public services and judiciary. Remaining armed remnants of the YPG remain a concern, but the broader regional picture now features heightened security coordination among Damascus, Ankara and Baghdad, opening prospects for joint infrastructure projects such as a railway linking Syria, Turkey and Iraq.