Female Kurdish fighters who became a global symbol of the fight against Islamic State are now negotiating with Syria's new leadership as they seek to secure their future under the country's changing military structure.
Under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's new security arrangements, Kurdish women fighters from the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) are seeking to retain an official combat and security role.
However, the YPJ leadership's proposal to integrate into the new structure as an autonomous and organised brigade has been rejected, according to a Reuters report.
During Syria's civil war, the Women's Protection Units, or YPJ, fought alongside the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The forces helped drive Islamic State from large parts of northern and eastern Syria.
The group gained international recognition for its all-female ranks and its role in battles against Islamic State, becoming one of the most recognisable fighting forces of the conflict.
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However, following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024 and the establishment of a new government headed by Islamist rebels, the force's future has become uncertain.
The new administration has been working to bring formerly independent armed groups into state institutions as part of a wider restructuring of Syria's security forces.
The SDF was officially disbanded last week, with its commander Mazloum Abdi becoming an adviser to President Ahmed al-Sharaa and other SDF members joining the defence ministry.
However, YPJ commander Nowruz Ahmed said she was told during meetings with Sharaa in Damascus last week that her troops had no place in the military. She said there are currently no women in Syria's new defence ministry.
"We were aiming to join the army, because our forces have experience and expertise that would enable them to protect themselves in an organised way in the form of an independent brigade or battalion," she told Reuters at a military base in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.
"Our main condition was that this force must be organised, must not be deployed to any place, and must not be in small groups. They rejected this proposal."
As it seeks another way to retain an organised fighting force, the YPJ is now in talks with Syria's interior ministry.
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The discussions come as Syria's new government reorganises the country's security institutions following more than a decade of conflict.
The interior ministry already employs women through a tourism police unit. According to people briefed on the discussions, Syria's central authorities suggested earlier this year that YPJ fighters join that force.
According to the report, the YPJ rejected the proposal. A YPJ representative, however, denied that such an offer had ever been made.
Ahmed told Reuters that the YPJ had instead proposed joining the interior ministry's special operations forces. Such a role could increase the presence of women in Syria's largely male-dominated security forces while better matching the skills and experience of YPJ fighters.
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