US envoy says SDF’s role in Syria has ‘largely expired’ after ISIL

According to US Special Envoy for Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have “largely expired” as the country’s “primary anti-ISIS force on the ground” is ready to take over security responsibilities, according to US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack.

The US military presence in northeastern Syria was historically justified primarily as a counter-ISIS partnership, according to Barrack on X.

With Damascus joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS as its 90th member in late 2025, Syria’s situation has “fundamentally” changed.

He claimed that Syria is now “willing and positioned to assume security responsibilities,” including control of ISIL (ISIS) detention facilities and camps.

After President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that Kurds would be granted citizenship rights and protections for the Kurdish language, the envoy continued to claim that the Syrian government has now opened a “unique window” for Kurds to integrate as it adopts its position as the “anti-ISIS” force.

Following a four-day ceasefire announced by the government, Barrack added that the Kurdish community’s future in Syria is now “on the path to full integration.”

Ayman Oghanna, a journalist from Damascus, claims that the US and the SDF have enjoyed “a very long relationship.”

They have “more than a decade” equipped, trained, and fought alongside the SDF, and still have 900 troops in SDF territory, he said.

We spoke with Syrian Kurds in the days leading up to the conflict because they worried that Damascus’ growing ties with the SDF might cause the US to abandon its relationship with them, which is what seems to be happening.

The Syrian army and the SDF made a ceasefire deal, which was al-Sharaa’s biggest victory since the government’s 2024 fall, with Barrack’s statement coming after the two countries reached a truce.

In the city of al-Shaddadi on Monday, reports of clashes between the Syrian army and the SDF broke out, with those accused of having ISIL connections fleeing prison.