Syria integration talks enter final stage, SDF delegation member says

DAMASCUS, Syria — BEIRUT — A member of Syria's People's Assembly and its presidential unification team said the integration process between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus has entered its final stages. Mustafa Abdi said demining operations continue in parts of the northeast, describing the work as a critical step for allowing displaced residents to return. Abdi said a group of judges who had served in Autonomous Administration institutions have completed interviews conducted by the Syrian Ministry of Justice. Once results are announced, court buildings in Hasakah and Qamishli could reopen. The dissolution of the SDF and People's Protection Units (YPG) could take place before the end of the month, according to Abdi, who added that roughly 13,000 families have returned to Afrin, Ras al-Ayn and Kobani. No timeline for completion of the integration has been publicly confirmed by Syrian authorities. Separately, clashes were reported in Ras al-Ayn on Monday among more than 400 returning families amid disputes over uncoordinated reentry into homes. The violence later spread to Hasakah, Qamishli, Amuda, Derik, Tal Tamr and al-Malabiyah, according to local accounts cited in the report.