بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Answer to Question
The Events in Syria and the Retreat of the Syrian Democratic Forces
(Translated)
Question:
Events are rapidly unfolding with a swift momentum in northeastern Syria, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are losing control over the areas at a very fast pace, with the Syrian regime taking them over. How did all of this happen? How should this be understood given that both the regime and the SDF are agents of America? And despite the American green light to the Syrian government being as clear as daylight in seizing those areas, what is the Trump administration planning in Syria or its surroundings?
Answer:
In order for the answer to the above questions to become clear, we present the following matters:
First: The stages of America’s support for the SDF in Syria
1. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF or the QASAD) are a broad alliance that was established in October 2015 with the aim of fighting the Islamic State organization (ISIS/ISIL/DAESH). It consists of Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Armenian, and Turkmen fighters. The largest component of the SDF is the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), which are responsible for the security and defense of the lands of the self-administration cantons declared in Rojava. (Wikipedia). America intensified its support for the Syrian Democratic Forces since their establishment in 2015 and since the American intervention in Syria in 2014, which preceded the Russian intervention. American forces provided the SDF with aerial protection and lavished them with financial support and weapons. America’s commitment to them reached the point that it killed hundreds of Russian Wagner forces who were attempting to cross the Euphrates eastward in February 2018. America repelled all Turkish statements and efforts aimed at undermining the SDF.
Thus, American support for the SDF continued since its founding, providing military air cover as well as political cover, in addition to financial and weapons support, and facilitating its control over the fertile lands around the Euphrates, oil and gas fields, and power stations. America also resisted Turkey’s opposition to this American policy in northeastern Syria. All of this was part of America’s preparation of tools to fight Islam should the Islamic Caliphate (Khilafah) be launched from Damascus.
2. Today, Trump has seen that the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa is more capable of achieving America’s interests in the region, foremost among them two matters: keeping the system of governance in Islam away from Syria, and submitting to the demands of the Jewish entity in Syria and Palestine, such that this entity is not resisted even while it attacks day and night! Therefore, Trump’s positions, followed by those of his ministers, regarding the end of the SDF’s role and the Syrian regime replacing it in serving America’s interests in the region, have become evident. This is no longer hidden, but rather openly declared day and night by the American envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, during his tours, as well as in the statements of the Turkish and Syrian presidents.
a. Tom Barrack stated: “The role of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as the “primary anti-ISIS force on the ground” has “largely expired” as the Syrian government is ready to assume security responsibilities,” (Al-Jazeera Net, 21/1/2026).
In another statement on the X platform, Barrack said: “Syria’s situation has “fundamentally” transformed, with Damascus joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS as its 90th member in late 2025. Syria is now “willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities” including control of ISIL (ISIS) detention facilities and camps, (Aljazeera; BBC, 20/1/2026).
He also stated in a lengthy post on his X page, translated by the U.S. Embassy in Syria:
“Today, the situation has fundamentally changed. Syria now has an acknowledged central government that has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (as its 90th member in late 2025), signaling a westward pivot and cooperation with the US on counterterrorism. This shifts the rationale for the US-SDF partnership: the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps.” (X; CNN Arabic, 21/1/2026).
b. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday that Kurdish forces in northern Syria must lay down their arms and immediately dissolve their ranks in order to reach a solution without further bloodshed, after Damascus granted them a four-day deadline to present a plan for integrating al-Hasakah into the central state. (Al-Jazeera Net, 21/1/2026).
c. The Syrian presidency announced in a statement on Monday that Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the statement published by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), “...the two presidents stressed the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial unity and independence, and supporting all efforts aimed at achieving stability. Both sides underlined the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state.” (SANA; CNN Arabic, 19/1/2026).
Second: From all of this, it becomes clear that America is granting the green light to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to end the SDF. America today does not hide its intentions, nor does it exert any effort to use diplomatic language. It openly declares that the SDF, as an American tool to fight “terrorism,” has ended, and that America now wants to rely on a larger tool, namely the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa. Both are American tools, and America replaces its tools as it wishes. All of this, together with developments on the ground, points to many matters, including the following:
1. The issue of replacing one agent with another agent: During the ash-Sham revolution, which exhausted America and caused Obama’s hair to turn gray, America continued to search for a strong agent capable of governing to replace its agent Bashar, against whom Syria had risen. We stated in an Answer to a Question dated 26/7/2025 that this clarifies that the American plan in Syria “is based on a fundamental premise: replacing one agent with another. For that purpose, Turkey was given the green light to dismantle Bashar's regime and build a new one loyal to it.”
Turkey and its intelligence services undertook this American mission and prepared Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was previously known as al-Julani. Months before the end of the Biden administration, America allowed Turkey to lead the operation of handing Syria over to the new American agent, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Turkey, on behalf of America, contacted Iran and Russia and neutralized their forces in Syria. America requested Bashar al-Assad to hand over the country, and so it happened. The new agent was installed in place of the old one, and Turkey remained the main conduit of America’s communication with him.
2. America began demanding that its new agent commit more “prohibited acts,” and he began proving his compliance under Turkish pressure. He abandoned the rayah (banner) bearing “Tawhid” and replaced it with a secular flag, issued amnesty for remnants of Bashar, while continuing to imprison young shabab of the Khilafah who are working to realize the glad tidings of the Messenger of Allah (saw) after this tyrannical rule under which we live:
«...ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكاً جَبْرِيَّةً فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ. ثُمَّ سَكَتَ»
“...Then there will be tyrannical kingship, and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then He will remove it when He wills to remove it. Then there will be a Caliphate upon the method of Prophethood.” Then he remained silent.
He reduced Qur’an class allocations in schools, and Trump demanded that he not respond to the repeated and severe attacks of the Jewish entity, which even reached Damascus itself. Trump then demanded that he negotiate with the Jewish entity, and rounds upon rounds of negotiations took place led by his foreign minister al-Shaybani without shame or piety—neither before Allah and His Messenger nor before the believers, especially the people of Gaza. The demands of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government from the Jewish entity during these negotiations were so trivial that the criminal Bashar had negotiated beyond them in the 2008 negotiations sponsored by Turkey before the ash-Sham revolution erupted. By accepting all these “prohibited acts,” America opened a direct political channel with him, in addition to intelligence channels and Turkish channels. The first political channel was the meeting between America’s agent Bin Salman (MBS) and al-Sharaa in Riyadh on 14/5/2025. These channels then expanded, and al-Sharaa received praise from the American president, who later received him at the White House on 11/11/2025, albeit through the back door and without official ceremonies. Trump stated that evening that he was “in agreement” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and affirmed that Washington would do everything it could to make Syria successful. (RT, 11/11/2025).
3. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed in the White House ways to resolve the existing problems in Syria concurrently with the visit of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Washington and his meeting with President Trump. Fidan announced that discussions were held in the White House with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, the U.S. President’s Special Envoy Witkoff, the U.S. Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack, and Syrian Foreign Minister As’ad al-Shaybani. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance later joined the meeting. The participants discussed possible ways out of the current problems in Syria. (RT, 11/11/2025).
4. During this period, America was lifting sanctions on Syria in stages to ensure at each stage that al-Sharaa was proving himself a loyal American agent. Consequently, Syria joined the international coalition to fight ISIS. The U.S. Embassy in Damascus announced on 11/11/2025 that Syria had joined the international coalition to fight ISIS, becoming officially the 90th member. (Anadolu, 12/11/2025). America then lifted sanctions on Syria when President Donald Trump signed the cancellation of the Caesar Act imposed on Syria since 2019. (Al-Jazeera, 19/12/2025).
Third: During the current events, the SDF forces were withdrawing from the areas, and according to statements by their commander Mazloum Abdi, this withdrawal from west of the Euphrates to its east was upon the advice of the “friends and mediators” (Kurdistan 24 website, 16/1/2026). And certainly America is at the head of these friends and mediators, which had been pushing for the implementation of the SDF agreement with the Syrian government on 10/3/2025:
(“Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi signed on Monday an agreement stipulating the integration of all civil and military institutions affiliated with the Kurdish self-administration within the framework of the Syrian state, according to what the presidency announced...” (Al-Arabiya, 10/3/2025)).
Then the Syrian government signed a second agreement with the SDF, pursuant to which the SDF withdraws and hands over “immediately” the governorates of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. The American envoy welcomed it and considered it a pivotal turning point, and that America wants a unified Syria: (The American envoy to Damascus, Tom Barrack, considered that the agreement whose signing was announced by Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara’ with the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi constitutes a “pivotal inflection point”. Barrack said in a post on the X platform: “This agreement and ceasefire represent a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division,” Barrack praised the agreement, saying it will lead to “renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria” (X: Al-Arabi Television, 18/1/2026).
Fourth: The hardline wings within the SDF—especially those cooperating with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—were delaying implementation in the hope that a loophole might open for them in American policy. They insisted that the integration of the SDF into the army be as a single bloc rather than as individuals. Al-Arabiya reported on 17/1/2026, citing the Erbil meeting, that the SDF commander Mazloum Abdi sought to persuade the Americans to allow integration as three divisions within the Syrian army. However, this loophole did not open in the American position, neither at the Erbil meeting nor before it. The government of al-Sharaa then began the offensive—i.e., enforcing the agreement by force—starting from neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo. Consequently, the SDF was compelled to sign a second agreement with the government under which it would “immediately” hand over the governorates of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. America endorsed this agreement. As we mentioned earlier, the SDF attempted to delay implementation with every agreement, but the intervention of the Arab tribes and their onslaught against the SDF left no room for that, even though the Syrian president called on the tribes to remain calm. Al-Sharaa said: “We advise our Arab tribes to remain calm and allow room for the implementation of the provisions of the agreement.” Arab militias have joined the army in its clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces since Saturday (CNN Arabic, 19/1/2026).
Fifth: Thus, events accelerated at a swift pace:
1- The Syrian government announced that the process of integrating SDF fighters would be carried out on an individual basis and not as a bloc or as military divisions within the army and the interior ministry. The government also announced reassurances regarding the population’s “cultural” rights and the granting of citizenships. It then actually began taking control of areas in the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, entered al-Hasakah governorate, and extended its control over it, leaving the SDF with no room for negotiation except over al-Hasakah. The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday evening a ceasefire between Syrian forces and the SDF starting at 8pm (about an hour from then) for a duration of four days. This came following the announcement by the Syrian presidency of the reaching of a mutual understanding between the government and the SDF regarding issues related to the future of al-Hasakah governorate (Al Jazeera Net, 20/1/2026). This agreement granted the SDF only a limited number of appeasement measures: the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Tuesday, quoting the Syrian presidency, that the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, would put forward a candidate from the SDF for the position of deputy minister of defense, in addition to proposing a candidate for the post of governor of al-Hasakah, names for representation in parliament, and a list of individuals for employment within Syrian state institutions (CNN Arabic, 20/1/2026). The presidency stated that, in the event of agreement, “Syrian forces will not enter the centers of the cities of al-Hasakah and al-Qamishli and will remain on their outskirts, with the timetable and details related to the peaceful integration of al-Hasakah governorate, including the city of al-Qamishli, to be discussed later.” (BBC, 20/1/2026). The two sides also agreed that Syrian government forces would not enter Kurdish villages, with their security to be undertaken by local security forces from the people of the area. (CNN Arabic, 20/1/2026).
2- After America decided to transfer ISIS prisoners from the prisons that had been under SDF control to Iraq, the SDF requested from America an extension of the deadline until the completion of the prisoners’ transfer, and this is what occurred. The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced the extension of the ceasefire deadline with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for 15 days in support of the American operation to evacuate prisoners of ISIS/ISIL from the prisons. The Ministry of Defense clarified on its account on the X platform that the extension would begin tonight at eleven o’clock local time, and that this comes in support of emptying SDF prisons of ISIS/ISIL prisoners and transferring them to Iraq (Al Jazeera, 24/1/2026). Thus, the process of closing the page of the SDF and the page of its commander, America’s small agent Mazloum Abdi, is underway after he completed the American task, and America ended his services in exchange for a “small retirement salary,” namely the appointment of employees here and there—something that may be temporary. For the one who manages events in the region is America, and if its interests require a change in positions, it orders its agents among the rulers to implement it without their eyelids fluttering or any sense of shame touching them. [أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ] “Unquestionably, evil is that which they decide.” [Al-Ma’idah:50]
Sixth: It is painful that Syria has become fully submissive to America after all the sacrifices made by its people to change the regime and establish the rule of Islam in its place. America purchases cheap loyalties to secure a crooked chair whose occupant serves America in order to remain seated and control all Syrian territory. He abandons the application of Islam and jihad to liberate occupied land, removes Syria from the confrontation front with the enemy—something even the fugitive criminal Bashar al-Assad did not dare do—and forgets or pretends to forget that throwing himself into America’s arms will not preserve his position if America finds a more capable agent. In those before him are lessons enough. will the rulers, their aides, and their entourages, America’s agents, not take heed from the way America brings down its agents, suffices itself with their services, and abandons them after their dreams have sunk, discarding them without remorse and without shedding a single tear for them, after they had spread corruption throughout the land in service to America—only for it then to throw them onto the roadside once it dispenses with their services in favor of a new agent more capable of serving it than the one before him? And true concerning these agent rulers is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
[فَأَذَاقَهُمُ اللَّهُ الْخِزْيَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ]
“So Allah made them taste disgrace in worldly life. But the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.” [Surah Az-Zumar 39:26].
8 Sha’ban 1447 AH
27/1/2026 CE