Parliamentary Policy Briefing Note Syria, the SDF, and the Kurdish Issue:

From Armed Conflict to Legal and Institutional Resolution

 

28 January 2026

1. Purpose of the Briefing

This briefing informs UK Members of Parliament of recent developments in Syria involving the Syrian government, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Kurdish-majority areas. It provides contextual clarification and outlines implications for UK policy in light of a changed legal and security framework.

2. Summary

The SDF is a non-State armed group long implicated in human rights violations amounting to international crimes. In a post-Assad Syria, UK priorities should focus on supporting a strong and unified state that guarantees equal citizenship and human rights protections for all. The continued existence of non-state armed groups such as the SDF poses security, humanitarian, and economic risks. Accordingly, they should be disarmed, demobilised, and reintegrated in line with the March 2025 and January 2026 agreements with the Syrian government. Kurdish rights should be protected under the law and within its national institutions, not through arms.

3. Political Agreements of March 2025 and January 2026 Promote Security, Economic, Protection, and Rights-Based Interests

The integration of SDF members into the Syrian military—as stipulated under agreements reached between the Syrian government and the SDF in March 2025 and January 2026, respectively—supports the emergence of a strong, unified, and stable Syria, where weapons remain within the confines of the state and where rights are guaranteed under the law instead of through the use of force. There are inherent security, economic, protection, and rights-related interests in this position:

Security Considerations

• The SDF has deeply embedded links with the PKK, a designated terrorist organisation;
• The SDF’s military resistance to the Syrian army led to the escape of ISIS prisoners from Shaddadi prison on 19 January;
• The proliferation of weapons beyond a centralised military poses national and regional security concerns.

Infrastructure and Economy

• Humanitarian support can be more structured and coordinated in the absence of armed clashes between state and non-state armed groups;
• Government control over natural resources such as water, oil, and gas will significantly boost economic recovery, reduce energy prices, and improve living conditions throughout the country;
• Public services significantly deteriorated under SDF rule despite the abundance of natural resources and international funding.

Civilian Protection

• The SDF has long been responsible for numerous violations amounting to international war crimes against humanity and civilian areas, including child recruitment and forced conscription of children including girls; arbitrary detention and unlawful deprivation of liberty; detention of thousands of children; torture; and forceful crackdowns against protests.
• The SDF and aligned forces have been responsible for additional violations in the context of recent military clashes, including:
  • Targeting civilian areas in Aleppo, including by sniper fire, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and suicide bombings and drones;
  • Attacking government forces in Aleppo on 9 January following agreed evacuation agreement;
  • Cutting off Aleppo’s primary source of drinking water at the Babri Pumping Station on 10 January (US pressure forced the SDF to turn it back on hours later);
  • Leaving behind explosive devices prior to retreat from Aleppo, including in residential buildings, a mosque, and a hospital;
  • Destroying infrastructure in northeast Syria prior to retreat, including bridges along the Euphrates River;
  • Targeting civilian areas in northeast Syrian governorates, including by sniper fire;
  • Executing prisoners in Tabaqa Prison on 18 January.
• State sources describe that the government army demonstrated high levels of discipline and safeguarding for civilians throughout its recent operations, including through advance warnings, temporary evacuations of civilians in high-risk zones, emergency shelters, coordinated returns, and resumption of services. A number of unofficial reports from Aleppo civilians confirm these reports.

Civil and Political Rights

• Executive Decree 2026/13, issued on 16 January, provides binding legal recognition of Kurdish civil, cultural, linguistic, and political rights within the Syrian state, guaranteeing equal citizenship under the law. It affirms access to members of the Syrian Kurdish community to national institutions, public administration, and military service on an equal basis.
• Rights are secured by law, not by parallel armed authority, embedding inclusion within state institutions and strengthening national cohesion.
• The Syrian Ministry of Education issued an Executive Instruction 2026/13 to implement Executive Decree 2026/13, including through developing Kurdish language curricula.

4. Recommended Priorities for UK Policy in Syria

In light of the rapid developments, SBC considers that building upon the March 2025 agreement, followed by the agreements of 18 and 27 January, respectively, constitutes a strong and sound foundation for moving towards Syria’s sovereignty and unity, and for ensuring genuine inclusivity and meaningful participation of all ethnic and communal groups. This approach helps to avoid a return to cycles of blame, accusations, and hate speech, and instead promotes the consolidation of civil peace in a united Syria governed by the rule of law.

We call upon the United Kingdom and its decision-makers to support the process of Syrian state-building through:

• Supporting the authority, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the state, and prioritising them over the use of force, through dialogue-based pathways;
• Supporting an immediate cessation of hostilities, with recognition that any authority or armed force must operate under the auspices of the state, and that any armed groups outside this framework are to be regarded as unlawful;
• Supporting the Syrian government in extending its control, dismantling and disarming armed groups operating outside the framework of the state, and integrating them into the national army;
• Supporting state efforts to restructure and re-govern the security sector in line with Syrian law and international human rights standards and to enforce discipline and accountability.
• Supporting efforts for thorough and independent investigations into all alleged violations or abuses, in a manner that safeguards the rights of victims, strengthens mechanisms of accountability and reinforces the rule of law.

To download the Full briefing: (Briefing- SDF Following Allepo clashes)