The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Arabic: الإدارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا; abbreviated AANES or DAANES) was a regional system of government that controlled parts of northern and eastern Syria between 2018 and 2026. Its political leadership included Kurdish organizations, while its defence force was the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), formed in 2015 and also comprising Arab, Syriac and Turkmen groups.

The administration never obtained formal international recognition, but it exercised de facto control over extensive territory in the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and parts of Aleppo. It maintained legislative, executive and judicial councils, along with institutions for education, health, internal security and resource management. Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024, it entered a process of negotiation and armed conflict, after which it was incorporated into the institutions of the Syrian state in 2026.

Origins and formation

The administration grew out of earlier structures known as cantons (self-governing districts) declared in 2014, followed by a federal framework designed in 2016. In September 2018 the General Council, made up of roughly 70 members including representatives of seven regional administrations, ordered the creation of an Executive Council, which was established on 7 October 2018. It was from that point that the name "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" came into use.

In December 2023, at a meeting held in Raqqa, a new version of the Social Contract was adopted as an interim constitution. Major changes included dividing the territory into seven regions, replacing the General Council with the People's Council of North and East Syria, and creating new bodies such as the Central Finance Office and the Court for the Protection of the Social Contract. The text emphasized regional self-government, gender equality and a form of direct democracy.

The agreement of 10 March 2025

On 10 March 2025, Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed a framework agreement in which the United States played a role. The agreement stipulated that the administration's military and civilian institutions — including border crossings, oil fields and internal security — would be integrated into the central government by the end of 2025. It also provided for a general ceasefire and constitutional recognition of all communities. Analysts, including the International Crisis Group, described it as lacking in detail and as opening a long process of negotiation.

Subsequent talks produced no result. A delegation from the administration travelled to Damascus in June 2025, and the agreement was renewed again in October 2025, but key questions — such as whether the SDF would be integrated as a unit or individually, and the degree of regional self-government in the constitution — remained unresolved.

The January 2026 fighting and the new agreement

In early January 2026 the talks collapsed and fighting broke out. The clashes began in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo, after which the SDF withdrew from the city. Government forces then retook the provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, a development influenced by the defection of Arab units within the SDF to the government. Analyses published by the Arab Center Washington DC and ISPI estimated that the SDF lost as much as 80% of the territory it had previously held, and that some 148,000 people were displaced.

In January 2026 new agreements were signed, superseding that of March 2025. According to a Congress.gov (CRS) report, the agreements called for the formation of a brigade composed of three regiments drawn from the SDF, plus a further regiment of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) forces under the authority of the Governor of Aleppo; for the administration's civilian staff to be absorbed into the state while retaining their posts; and for the civil and educational rights of Kurds to be settled. In May 2026 Kurds took part in the Syrian parliamentary elections, which had previously been postponed.

Dissolution and end

On 25 August 2026, Mazloum Abdi announced the end of SDF operations and the dissolution of the force as an independent military body. The Syrian state news agency SANA described the process as 17 months running from a political agreement to implementation on the ground, in which military, security, administrative and civilian functions were transferred to state institutions. The administration's bodies — including the Executive Council and the Social Contract — were incorporated into the central state system in 2026.

Debate about the aftermath continues. Sources including the Arab Center Washington DC and researchers associated with the Kurdish Peace Institute have raised concerns about the erosion of cultural and political rights, the role of women, and the influence of foreign economic interests in the oil fields. On the other hand, governments including Turkey and Saudi Arabia described the outcome as a step strengthening the authority of the Syrian state, while France and other countries urged that the rights of communities be protected in the constitution.