Mazloum Abdi

Farhad Abdi Shaheen, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Mazlum Kobane, is a Syrian Kurdish military leader, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

According to organizational media, Mazloum Abdi was a member of the executive council of the PKK‘s branch, Kurdistan Communities Union, in 2013. Abdi's SDF reached an integration agreement with the Syrian transitional government on 10 March 2025 after Abdi congratulated Ahmed al-Sharaa on assuming the Syrian transitional presidency.

Name

There are different claims about Mazloum Abdi's real name. Some sources in Turkey state that his name is Mustafa Abdi bin Halil, and the names he has used over the years include Ferhat Abdi Şahin, Şahin Cilo and Mazlum Abdi. In October 2019, he told ''The New York Times'' in an interview that his real name is "Mazlum Abdi". Abdi also uses this name on his official Twitter account.

United States President Donald Trump used the phrase "General Mazlum" for him.

Early life

Ferhad Abdi Shaheen was born to Syrian Kurdish parents in Kobani around 1967. Trained as a civil engineer at the University of Aleppo, Abdi joined the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) within Syria in 1990 and was imprisoned five times by the Syrian authorities. During his time with the PKK in Syria, he became a personal friend of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Under his nom de guerre Şahin Cilo, Mazlum Kobanê was a high-ranking PKK official who worked in Syrian exile since the 1990s and later took an active role in building up the PKK in Europe.

He moved to Europe in 1997, where he engaged in Kurdish political activities until 2003. That year, he traveled to Iraq, where he was reportedly involved in military operations. He served as a member of the PKK high command in 2005. From 2009 to 2011/12, he was a member of the People's Defense Forces' (HPG) special operations board. In 2011/12, he was dispatched to Syria by the PKK to organize the activities of the People's Defense Units (YPG) in Kurdish-populated regions of Syria, amid the escalating Syrian Civil War.

Syrian war and military leader

In August 2014, he was in charge of the negotiations the People's Protection Units (YPG) held in Sulaymaniya with Iran and the United States in order to form an effective alliance against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), after which an alliance with the US was agreed to. Abdi defended Kobani during the Siege of Kobani (Oct. 2014–Jan. 2015), refusing to withdraw despite US recommendations to do so. When his family's house was taken a 3rd time by ISIS in house-to-house fights, and given the increased collaboration with USAF, he requested a strike on his home. As the commander of the SDF, Abdi commands 70,000 troops.

On April 25, 2017, the Turkish Armed Forces conducted an air operation against PKK targets in the Sinjar Mountains in Iraq and the Karachok Mountains in northeastern Syria. Abdi was among the teams that included United States Special Operations Command officers who visited and inspected the area where the targets were bombed by Turkish jets in the Karachok Mountain region. On March 5, 2018, the United States Department of Defense spokesman, Colonel Robert Manning, said in a press conference regarding Abdi, "We will continue to support General Mazloum and the Syrian local security forces in the areas liberated from ISIS." In a statement made by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Hami Aksoy, he reacted to the Pentagon spokesman's use of the name of Mazloum Abdi, who is on Turkey‘s "most wanted terrorists list", and the use of the term "YPG" general in the press conference. In July 2019, Mazloum Abdi met with the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and signed a United Nations document on behalf of the SDF.

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

Abdi has stated that he is open to work with the Syrian government within a federal system that includes the existing de facto autonomous region of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. On 29 June 2019 Abdi, as representative of the SDF, signed the action plan of the United Nations aiming to prevent the enlistment of child soldiers in the armed forces.

On October 9, 2019, the day Operation Peace Spring began, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, attaching the letter Mazloum Abdi sent to Trump. The letter included the following statements: "I have worked hard to resolve some of your problems. Do not disappoint the world. You can make a good deal. General Mazloum Abdi is willing to negotiate with you and is willing to make concessions that they would never make in the past. I am sending you a copy of the letter he wrote to me, which I have just received." He served as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the operation. While the operation was ongoing, US President Donald Trump held meetings with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss issues including the ceasefire. Following the Sochi agreement signed between Russia and Turkey, Trump directly included Mazloum Abdi‘s Twitter account in his message, stating that he had spoken to Mazloum Abdi on the phone, that he was very pleased with this, and thanked Mazloum Abdi.

On 26–27 October 2019, the United States conducted a military operation code named Operation Kayla Mueller that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the then-leader and self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic State terrorist organization. The operation took place in the outskirts of Barisha, Idlib Governorate, Syria.

Prior to the raid, the SDF, working with the U.S. government, had spent five months gathering intelligence on Baghdadi's location. A senior U.S. State Department official said that the Kurdish-led SDF "played a key role" in the raid on Baghdadi's compound and that the United States was in close communication with SDF commander General Mazloum Abdi about every aspect of their operation, and Abdi's statements about the raid, in reference to the joint intelligence cooperation on the ground, were accurate. Abdi said the operation had been delayed by a month due to Turkey's military build-up at the Syrian border and the Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria that followed.

Mazloum Abdi claimed in an interview with NBC television that the SDF under his command played an active role in the operation in which the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed. In the same interview, Mazloum Abdi said that a spy affiliated with the SDF managed to infiltrate Baghdadi’s close circle and obtained information about the plan of the place where the ISIS leader was hiding, the existence of the tunnel and how many people were there. He then stated that the spy managed to obtain a used underwear and blood sample belonging to Baghdadi, that these samples were delivered to the CIA and that the US decided to launch the operation as a result of DNA tests confirming that the person being followed was Baghdadi. In an article by Lara Seligman published in Foreign Policy, it was stated that Mazloum Abdi worked with the US government for a long time to gather intelligence on Baghdadi’s whereabouts, that Mazloum Abdi was the only foreigner with information about the target and that the operation in which Baghdadi was killed was postponed for a month due to Operation Peace Spring.

On October 30, 2019, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced that "The SDF General Command, which intends to open the doors of dialogue, should be directly addressed, not our members." Mazloum Abdi stated on his personal Twitter account that the call was made on an individual level, not to the SDF institutionally, and that they rejected their members' individual participation in the Syrian army and wanted the status of the SDF to be preserved.

In the wake of the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, Abdi has stated his willingness to work with the Syrian regime and Russia and to make compromises with them in order to protect the local population of northeastern Syria from potential "genocide" by "Turkey and its jihadi mercenaries. As part of a deal with the SDF, Syrian government troops have been given permission to enter the cities of Manbij and Kobani in the hopes of deterring further Turkish aggression.

In October 2019, a group of US Senators suggested that the US State Department give Abdi a visa so that he would be able to discuss Syria in the United States. In response, the Turkish Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül criticized the US government for treating Abdi as a "legitimate political figure" and indicated that an extradition request had been issued so that if Abdi would enter US territory, he should be detained to be extradited to Turkey.

On October 9, 2019, US president Donald Trump wrote a note to Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, offering to mediate between Turkey and the YPG, saying Abdi was "willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past" and enclosing a note from Abdi. During Erdoğan's November 14 state visit to the US, he returned the letter to Trump, and claimed Abdi was the adoptive son of the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Mazloum Abdi stated that they consider themselves as "Syrian and a part of Syria", adding that they will agree to work with the Syrian Government. The SDF officially announced their support for the deal on 27 October 2019, five days after the memorandum was made.

On April 28, 2020, a suicide bomber drove a truck full of TNT into a crowd in the city of Afrin and blew himself up. 53 civilians were killed and 50 others injured. The Turkish government immediately blamed the People's Protection Units (YPG). The Syrian Democratic Council and the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, condemned the bombing and blamed Turkish policy, pointing out that "gangs armed by Turkey" had been involved in similar attacks.

As Erdogan's government in Turkey has decided to follow a different strategy in the Middle East in the beginning of 2022, Turkish President Erdogan stated that it would be possible to meet with Assad, and that there can be no resentment in politics, which caused to allegations in the Turkish media that Turkey and Syrian government could launch a joint operation against the SDF (AANES), especially in government-based TV channels.

Mazloum Abdi stated in a January 2022 interview that, “We do not accept a return to the past. The Autonomous Administration has existed for ten years, and they must accept it constitutionally. Also, with regard to the military file, by which I mean the SDF and Asayish, the regime must recognize both of them. However, the regime is not yet prepared to take that step. Likewise, a solution will not be reached without international parties putting constant pressure on the Assad regime.”

A terrorist attack occurred on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, on , killing 6 people and injuring 81 others. No group has claimed responsibility, but Turkish authorities announced that Kurdish separatists were behind the attack,i mplicating the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

On 22 November 2022, Mazloum Abdi claimed the bomber, Albashir, to be related to IS jihadists via her brothers and past husbands, some of whom were killed in battles against Kurdish forces. More recently, she was inhabiting Turkey-controlled area within North-Western Syria. Abdi called for peace between Turkey and Syrian Kurds, excluding any operation against Turkey in Turkey, and denying responsibility for the bombing. He vowed however to defend Syrian territories under AANES control. He also deplores Erdogan's electoral strategy, preferring war and tension over a peace agreement with his forces, which would be an equally winning electoral strategy.

On 26 November 2022, Mazloum Abdi stated that they halted operations against the Islamic State group due to Turkish attacks on northern Syria. He also accused Turkish strikes of causing severe damage to the region's infrastructure. Two rockets also targeted U.S.-led coalition forces at bases in the northeastern Syrian town of Ash Shaddadi.

In early July 2024, violent anti-Turkish riots occurred in northern Syria, within areas controlled by Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces. Local protesters and armed militants attacked and set fire to Turkish government buildings, military bases, and attacked Turkish civilians in the region. Mazloum Abdi said that, despite differences, Syrians were united by national honor and independence. Abdi condemned the attacks on Syrians in Kayseri, and called for the protection of their lives and dignity. Abdi also welcomed all Syrians who rioted to SDF controlled areas in north and eastern Syria, extending a hand to save the country together.

At the end of 2024, Abdi warned that the SDF would not have sufficient capacity to continue administering the high-security prison in al-Hasakah (which, according to Abdi, housed approximately 12,000 Islamic State fighters at the time) if Turkey continued to attack the autonomous administration of northern and eastern Syria, which the SDF defended, and if the United States reduced its support for the SDF with the inauguration of Donald Trump. Abdi accused Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of seeking to destroy the autonomous administration and expel the Syrian Kurds from the northern border region in order to settle Arabs there.

He met with the chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, in Erbil on January 16, 2025.

Fall of the Assad Regime

Mazlum Abdi‘s stance after the fall of the Assad regime, although supported by the international community, has led to regional debates. The US and European countries have stated that the SDF is a guarantor of stability in the region and have responded positively to Abdi’s calls. On the other hand, Turkey has criticized Mazlum Abdi and the SDF for their links to the PKK and has increased threats of military operations in the process.

During the Fall of the Assad regime the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) captured Tell Rifaat and announced a military campaign targeting Manbij, a strategic city in the eastern Aleppo countryside. On 2 December 2024, the SDF announced plans to evacuate Kurdish IDPs from Tel Rifaat and the Shahba region to SDF-held areas in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood district and northeastern Syria. Mazloum Abdi commented: “Our efforts are continuing to secure a safe exit for the residents of Tal Rifaat and al-Shahba.” This offensive held particular significance as Manbij represented the final Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled territory west of the Euphrates River, where the group maintained its presence with U.S. military support. The opposition's military operations occurred as part of Operation Dawn of Freedom simultaneously with Operation Deterrence of Aggression, which advanced from Idlib toward Homs.

The Dawn of Freedom operations room, a component of the SNA, articulated that while their primary objective remained the removal of the Assad government, they were compelled to engage the SDF due to what they characterized as attacks on opposition-held villages in the Aleppo countryside. The operations room issued civilian safety advisories for Manbij residents, requesting they maintain distance from military installations.

On 9 December, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that the city was captured by the SNA. The Mazloum Abdi denied this, stating it as "psychological warfare" and "propaganda". The SOHR stated that SNA had captured most of the city, claiming withdrawal of the Manbij Military Council, except for positions in the rear of Manbij. It was also reported that after holding talks, the United States and Turkey reached an agreement which resulted in the SDF withdrawing from Manbij.

Following the SNA capture of Manbij city on 11 December, a temporary ceasefire agreement in the region was reached between the SNA and SDF through U.S. mediation. However, military activities did not cease, which eventually resulted in fighting in the Kobani countryside. In addition, the SNA refused the evacuation of SDF members or civilians from Manbij, executed captured SDF members and attempted offensive operations against the SDF, resulting in fighting near the Tishrin Dam. The following week, the SNA stated that they ended the US-brokered ceasefire with the SDF. Turkey stated that the ceasefire did not exist.

The offensive comes around the same time in which several Syrian rebel factions agreed with de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to dissolve their groups and to fall under the country's new Ministry of Defense. Mazloum Abdi did not participate in this meeting in Damascus.

In January 2025, talks started between the new HTS-led Syrian government and the SDF in Damascus. The focus of the negotiations was to settle the Kurdish forces into the new administration and to resolve the conflict with the SNA. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi has said that one of his central demands is a decentralised administration, in which he proposed to integrate the SDF with the new Defence Ministry, but as "a military bloc" without dissolving the group. This proposal was rejected by Syria's new defence minister Murhaf Abu Qasra stating that such a bloc "is not right." Abu Qasra expressed his desire to finish the integration process by 1 March. At the same time, he did not rule out the use of force should the negotiations fail.

On 29 January, Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed as the interim Syrian president. The spokesperson of Syria's military operations, Hassan Abdel Ghani, announced on state media the dissolution of all armed factions in the country, which includes the SNA and al-Sharaa's own HTS. In his first interview as president, al-Sharaa told reporters of ''The Economist'' that he opposes a federal system in Syria. Moreover, al-Sharaa said that Turkey was planning to launch a full-fledged operation in the north against the Kurdish forces, but he asked them to wait in order to give space for negotiations to reach an agreement with Mazloum Abdi.

Agreement with the government in Damascus

After several failed negotiations, Abdi met with Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa on 10 March 2025. Mazloum announced the SDF agreed to integrate into state institutions. Ahmed al-Sharaa declared: "We are committed to building a better future that guarantees the rights of all Syrians and fulfils their aspirations for peace and dignity," he wrote on X after signing the deal in Damascus on Monday alongside interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tolerates this agreement and clearly states in his statement that airports, oil fields and border crossings should come under the control of the government in Damascus, thus destroying the original demand of Mazloum Abdi and the Kurdish parties for autonomy in the country. Erdogan further added in televised comments: "We attach great importance to the territorial integrity of our neighbour Syria, the preservation of its unitary structure, and the strengthening of its unity and stability." Before Erdoğan's statement, a Turkish official said that the Turkish Government was "cautiously optimistic" about the deal but focused on its implementation.

This agreement is viewed with controversy, as the same week factions of the Syrian Armed Forces carried out mass killings in the Alawite region in the west of the country. This leads many to believe that with such an agreement, al-Sharaa can achieve a positive image in the Western world after these events, and is less intended to benefit the Kurds in Syria. Mazloum Abdi condemned the violence against the Alawites, with calling on Ahmad al-Sharaa to hold the perpetrators of the massacres accountable, and to stop the violence. Abdi stated extremist groups were attempting to "create sectarian conflicts and settle internal scores" across Syria.

The Kurdish National Council and other Kurdish groups declared on Monday that it was unaware of a recent landmark meeting between Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi.

However, under the conditions it is known that there will be joint operations between the SDF and Damascus government forces against remnants and sleeper cells of ISIS in the Syrian desert. Al-Sharaa promised to go after war criminals belonging to the former regime.

See also

* Battle of Raqqa
* East Aleppo offensive
* Ferhad Şamî

Notes

References

External links

*

Abdi‘s official X account

Kobani, Mazlum. Challenges after the elimination of ISIS (26 Mart 2019)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdi, Mazloum
Kurdish military personnel
Syrian Kurdish people
Living people
Syrian Democratic Forces
1967 births
People from Kobanî
Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
21st-century Kurdish people