Kurdish fighters hesitate to join Syria’s vision of a unified army

On March 13, Syria’s Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa approved a temporary constitutional declaration, setting the stage for a new regime. The declaration specifies that only the state can have an army. This has raised concerns for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led military faction in northeastern Syria. Under an agreement signed with Damascus, the SDF will eventually be integrated into the national army. But how can Syria’s most powerful armed force join a unified army when some of their potential allies are also their enemies? The path to a unified Syrian army remains uncertain.