Damascus: Integration in Hasakah entering practical implementation phase
RastinewsAhmed al-Hilali, spokesperson for the Presidential Committee overseeing the implementation of the January 29 Agreement and Deputy Governor of Hasakah, said the integration process in northern and eastern Syria has moved from the agreement stage into practical implementation. Hilali said the process is not limited to the handover of institutions, but also includes the unification of administrative, security and military structures under the framework of the Syrian state.
RASTÎ – In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ahmed al-Hilali said the security situation in Hasakah has improved significantly compared to the previous period and that a gradual stability has been taking shape on the ground.
Noting that some files within the integration process have not yet been finalized, Hilali said the work is continuing "without allowing any gap to form in the institutional or security domain."
"This is not about handing over buildings or changing names"
Hilali said the ongoing process should not be viewed merely as the handover of public buildings or the renaming of institutions.
Saying that integration is primarily aimed at restructuring administrative, security and military decision-making mechanisms within the central state structure, Hilali said the remaining work is concentrated on three main files.
According to him, these include the restructuring of personnel and the transfer of those who meet the required conditions into the Ministries of Defense and Interior, the regulation of staff ranks and entitlements, and the continued integration of institutions not yet handed over. In addition, the transfer of authority, the unification of working systems, and the merging of data and resources belonging to the institutions will be completed.
Arguing that these are matters of implementation rather than political disagreement, Hilali said: "The political decision is clear. State institutions will be unified while safeguarding the rights of all citizens, and the sole authority will be the Syrian state."
No date given for completion
Without announcing a definitive timeline for when the integration will be fully completed, Hilali pointed to the scope of the process.
Saying "I would not want to give an artificial date for a process of this scale and complexity," Hilali said the work has reached an advanced stage and that the aim is to complete the process as soon as possible.
Obstruction of institutional handovers
Before the dissolution of the SDF was announced, members of the Revolutionary Youth Movement were known to have staged actions in some areas of Hasakah against the handover of institutions.
Hilali said such attempts have now "largely receded."
The group in question had staged a protest at the Hasakah courthouse in May, citing the removal of Kurdish from the building's signage, which was left in Arabic and English only.
Hilali argued that a general approach has taken hold that public institutions should no longer be turned into arenas of conflict. Saying that the handover of institutions to the Damascus administration does not target any segment of society, Hilali described it as "the return of service and of law."
SDF and Autonomous Administration had been dissolved
SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi announced on August 25, in a statement made at the People's Palace in Damascus, that the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria had been dissolved.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a decree issued on August 28, appointed Abdi as a Presidential Advisor.
About ten days before the dissolution decision, Abdi had told Rûdaw that the agreement reached with Damascus did not meet all Kurdish demands but did establish a status for Kurds within the Syrian state.
Ilham Ahmed, Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration's Department of Foreign Relations, had said that the completion of integration does not mean other files related to the Kurdish issue are closed, and said that in the new period, constitutional guarantees for the Kurdish language and Kurdish rights would be among the main items on the agenda.
Debate over Kurdish-language education continues
The Damascus administration had defined Kurdish as a "national language" under Decree No. 13 of January 16. Under a decision on education, Kurdish is to be taught for three hours a week starting from the 2026-2027 school year in areas with a dense Kurdish population.
The Kurdish side does not consider teaching Kurdish as a subject alone to be sufficient and is calling for the right to education in the mother tongue to be guaranteed.
The Syrian army entered the center of Hasakah city on September 2. Troops are also planned to be deployed in other parts of the province, including Qamishli and Derik.
According to the integration plan announced in June, about 9,000 Asayish members, including roughly a thousand women, are to be incorporated into the Syrian Ministry of Interior in line with age, health and merit criteria.