US Envoy Urges Kurdish-Led Forces to Integrate With Syrian Government Amid Ongoing Clashes

The call for the SDF to integrate came amid armed clashes and reported prisoner escapes at ISIS detention camps in northeastern Syria on Jan. 19 and 20.

Residents topple a statue of a female Kurdish fighter after the takeover of the town by Syrian government forces from US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Tabqa, eastern Syria, on Jan. 18, 2026. Ghaith Alsayed/AP Photo

U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack on Jan. 20 urged the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate with the country’s current de facto interim government.

The United States has historically supported the predominantly Kurdish SDF throughout the Syrian civil war and concurrent fight against ISIS.