Syrian security forces and government officials have taken over administration of Kobani under a new agreement with Kurdish-led forces (Syrian Interior Ministry/Facebook)
The Syrian government on Sunday assumed administration of the city of Kobani in northeastern Aleppo province, in a new step linked to ongoing administrative and security integration agreements between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under a deal reached on 29 January.
Kobani district director Ibrahim Muslim began carrying out his duties from inside the city for the first time, operating from the headquarters designated for the district administration, which had previously served as a base for the Kurdish-led self-administration.
Muslim arrived in Kobani accompanied by a government delegation in his first official visit since being appointed district director.
He was received by representatives of the self-administration, Kobani subdistrict director Mohammed Mohammed, and a delegation from the internal security forces.
Both sides discussed mechanisms for managing civilian affairs and ways to ensure the success of the administrative and security integration process, to strengthen stability and improve administrative and service operations in the city and surrounding countryside.
The developments came a day after a meeting in Hasakah between SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and district director Ibrahim Muslim, attended by Kurdish politician Anwar Muslim and Kobani Internal Security Directorate chief Majd al-Din al-Sheikh.
The meeting addressed administrative, security and service-related files concerning Kobani and its countryside, as well as development projects and plans aimed at improving services in the area.
Kurdish media cited a source present at the meeting as saying the discussions took place in a positive atmosphere.
The source said Muslim had presented several proposals and projects related to improving services and organising administrative work, while Abdi welcomed the proposals and stressed the need to intensify efforts to strengthen stability and improve living and service conditions for residents.
The handover of Kobani’s administration comes weeks after the start of broader administrative and security arrangements in the area.
In late April, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced that the Aleppo Internal Security Command had formally taken over the Internal Security Directorate building in Kobani and officially begun carrying out its duties there.
On 29 January, the Syrian government announced it had reached a ceasefire agreement with the SDF that included understandings over the gradual integration of military forces and administrative cadres into state institutions.
The agreement also included the deployment of Syrian security forces into the city centres of Hasakah, Qamishli and Kobani, alongside the transfer of state institutions, border crossings and government facilities back under Damascus’ authority.
