SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the new leadership in Damascus have struck an agreement to exchange “all prisoners” and keep the SDF-affiliated ...

including Kurdish forces, to integrate into the national army. The People’s Protection Units (YPG), a key faction within the SDF, had pushed for the creation of special units within the military ...

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) shakes the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement to integrate the SDF into state ...

the new government has sought to unify the complex web of rebel groups operating across Syria — the most powerful of them being the Kurdish-led forces in the oil-rich northeast. However ...

The agreement to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF ... but should feel like they are a special part of a greater prosperity by benefiting from equal opportunities,” he said. The SDF is a ...

JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: For many Kurds, it was a low-key end to a decades-long dream. (SOUNDBITE OF PEN SCRATCHING) ARRAF: The commander of the Kurdish-led forces and the interim Syrian president - the ...

If the Kurds do succeed in establishing an independent state in Syria amid the chaos gripping the region, it could accelerate secessionist movements in other Kurdish areas of the Middle East.

But amid mounting uncertainty over Washington’s role in the region, experts said Kurdish-led forces likely recognized their negotiating position was eroding. U.S. support for the Kurdish militia ...

(SOUNDBITE OF PEN SCRATCHING) ARRAF: The commander of the Kurdish-led forces and the interim Syrian president - the Syrian flag behind them - signed a two-page document aimed at bringing the ...