Former SDF and Asayish members regularize status at reconciliation center in Raqqa, Syria

Описание: (1 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Raqqa, Syria - 01 February 2026
1. Various of Former SDF and Asayish members, guarded with an armed government security member, line up in front of a government-run reconciliation center in Raqqa, northern Syria, to regularize their status
2. Wide of former Asayish and SDF members entering the reconciliation center
3. Various of former Asayish member Ahmad Al-Abdallah being questioned at the reconciliation center, with his photo and fingerprints taken for documentation
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Al-Abdallah, former Asayish member:
“I was affiliated with the Asayish forces. My role was guarding passenger stations, where we checked passengers’ IDs and travel manifests when they left the station. I served from around 2018 until 2025. On October 9, 2025, I fled and stayed at home. After the army entered the area, a reconciliation process was announced, and I came here to regularize my status.”
5. Various of Al-Abdallah receiving his reconciliation documents and leaving the center.
6. Wide of the director of Raqqa reconciliation center in his office
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mustafa Al-Issa, Director of Raqqa reconciliation center:
“The center facilitates the reconciliation process for SDF members. Any member who regularizes their status within the legal time frame protects themselves and can move freely by presenting their ID with the document that protects them within the city. Anyone who delays the settlement process exposes themselves to legal accountability.”
8. Various of former female SDF and Asayish members working in the center on regularizing their status
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mustafa Al-Issa, Director of Raqqa reconciliation center:
“As of today, the number has reached approximately more than 2,000 members at the Raqqa center.”
10. Wide of former SDF male members waiting their turn to enter the reconciliation center
STORYLINE:
Dozens of former members of Kurdish forces lined up on Sunday in front of a newly established reconciliation center to demobilize and regularize their legal status with the new Syrian government.

They included those who were part of Asayish - the Kurdish led security agency in north and eastern Syria which includes Arabs as well as Kurds - and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The reconciliation centers offer identity verification and amnesty procedures for those formerly affiliated with the Kurdish-led SDF.

According to officials, the centers have been operating since last month, after government forces took control of the Raqqa district, and have received over 2,000 people.

“Any member who regularizes their status within the legal time frame protects themselves and can move freely by presenting their ID along with the settlement document within the city,” said Mustafa Al-Issa, director of the reconciliation center. “Anyone who delays the settlement process exposes themselves to legal accountability,” he added.

Applicants need to complete paperwork and biometric registration to receive their clearance.

On Friday, the SDF announced a new agreement with the central government, aiming to stabilize a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and lay out steps toward integrating the U.S.-backed force into the army and police forces and integrating civilian institutions in the SDF-controlled areas into the central government in Damascus.


The central government has said that former SDF members will be approved to join the new brigades on a case-by-case basis, following security vetting.




AP Video by Ghaith Alsayed



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