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Mazloum Abdi, head of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced on Tuesday the group's dissolution as an independent military force, as part of a deal struck with the new authorities in Damascus. In a televised speech from the presidential palace, Abdi declared 'the end of the mission' of the SDF, which had fought for a decade against ISIL in northeastern Syria. The move follows the merger of Kurdish forces into the new Syrian national army under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government, and comes as Damascus works to consolidate control over the country's territory. SDF commanders said they would continue to campaign for Kurdish language and cultural preservation even as the force itself is absorbed into a unified national military structure.