Massacre allegations shadow Syria-Kurdish integration deal

DAMASCUS – The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Sunday that it has launched investigations into reports of massacres in Hasakah province, in the northeast of the country, currently under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The move comes despite a recent agreement between Damascus and the SDF aimed at integrating the group into state institutions and allowing government authorities to resume operations in Kurdish-held areas.

The ministry stressed that it is monitoring the reports with “utmost seriousness and urgency,” and that specialised bodies have already begun “the necessary investigative procedures to verify the information.”

The allegations follow videos circulating on social media appearing to show armed Kurdish fighters committing ethnic-targeted killings in Hasakah shortly after a ceasefire agreement was signed with the government. Syrian activists also reported summary executions of Arab families, allegedly in retaliation for defeats suffered by the SDF against the Syrian army in recent days. Observers note parallels with previous incidents in Syrian regions with dominant Alawite and Druze populations following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, where sectarian and religious motives triggered widespread violence.

Earlier on Sunday, President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement to integrate the SDF into Syrian state institutions. Civilian administration would be absorbed into government ministries, while SDF fighters would join the Ministry of Defence as individuals. Control over border crossings, oil and gas fields, and key infrastructure would also revert to Damascus.

Among the key provisions of the agreement is the full administrative and military handover of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces to the Syrian government, effective immediately. The accord follows a Syrian army offensive in recent days that recaptured large swathes of territory in eastern and north-eastern Syria after repeated SDF breaches of prior agreements signed with Damascus ten months ago.

The SDF had previously rejected a March 2025 agreement that sought to ensure equal rights for all ethnic groups, integrate civil and military institutions in the northeast under government oversight, reopen border crossings, airports, and energy fields to state control, and confirm Syria’s territorial unity while relocating SDF forces from Aleppo to the east of the Euphrates.

Since the fall of Assad’s government in December 2024, the Sharaa administration has made intensive efforts to consolidate control, restore security, and reassert authority over Syria’s full geography, while managing ongoing economic and military challenges.

The Interior Ministry’s investigation into Hasakah highlights both the sensitivity of the integration process and lingering fears of sectarian and ethnic violence in areas recently brought under closer government oversight.