The murder of Sipan Hazni and a key question; Can Damascus guarantee the security of the Kurds?

According to KurdPress, the murder of a Kurdish member of the Syrian Ministry of Defense has created a new test for the process of integrating Kurdish forces into the security and military structures of the Damascus government; an event that, if its dimensions are not clarified and the perpetrators are not dealt with judicially, could further weaken the Kurds' trust in the integration process and security relations between the Kurdish regions and the central government.Saypan Hazni, a young Kurdish former member of the Syrian Democratic Forces, joined the government’s military structure after a January 29 agreement to merge the group’s forces with the Syrian Ministry of Defense. He was found near the village of Jamil in Hasakah, reportedly shot and stabbed.

After learning of Hazni’s disappearance, Hasakah security forces launched an investigation into the incident and arrested a suspect who was trying to escape on a motorcycle. Local authorities said the investigation is ongoing to complete the case and refer it to the judiciary.

Hazni’s uncle, Ahmed Hassu, told Amargi that the family was informed of his abduction before his body was found. Videos purporting to show Hazni’s abduction and murder have also been posted on social media.Hazni was a frontline member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the war against ISIS and joined the Syrian Ministry of Defense after the merger agreement. His family is demanding that the perpetrators of the murder be punished. Referring to concerns about the security of Kurdish forces, Hazni’s uncle said how can other forces trust the government if forces that have joined the government are killed in this way.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Hazni’s abduction was linked to allegations of the killing of members of the Abu Hassan clan from the Baggareh tribe in the past two years. However, the Hazni family has stressed that they do not want to exacerbate the differences between Kurds and Arabs and that their goal is simply to clarify the truth and achieve justice for the killing of Sipan.

Protests were held in a number of Kurdish areas after the incident.A delegation of officials from the Hasakah administration and the Hasakah Brigade Command, which is composed of former Syrian Democratic Forces forces, visited the Hazani family’s home to express their sympathy and promised that the perpetrators of the incident would be prosecuted.

Hisham al-Mustafa, a colonel and strategic expert for the Syrian government, also announced in an interview with “Amargi” that Damascus would fulfill its legal responsibility for the incident and that the security forces would continue to pursue the perpetrators. He emphasized that Kurds are Syrian citizens and enjoy equal rights with other citizens, and that the case of the murder of Hazani is being seriously investigated.

However, this incident has become more than a criminal case; it has become a test for the process of integrating former Syrian Democratic Forces forces into the structures of the central government.Some residents of Hasakah believe that groups within the government structure may be seeking to incite ethnic tensions and create divisions between Kurds and Arabs. Such concerns, especially as former SDF forces gradually distance themselves from their independent structures and come under the command of the Damascus government, could pose a challenge to the trust-building process.

Stressing the need for accountability from the Syrian government, Sherwan Ahmed, a resident of Hasakah, called for the results of the investigation to be made public, saying that justice and accountability are essential to building trust and preventing an escalation of tensions.

Hazni’s killing is not the first incident against former SDF forces since they joined the Syrian Ministry of Defense.On August 11, the Qamishlo Brigade headquarters was targeted by a bomb attack, killing three former SDF fighters who had recently joined the Ministry of Defense.

A repeat of such incidents could have significant implications for the future of the integration process. For the Kurdish forces, joining the Syrian Ministry of Defense is not just an organizational change, but also means giving up part of the independent security and military structures that had been built up during the years of war in northeastern Syria. If the integrated forces do not receive effective security and judicial support, even after coming under the auspices of the central government, the motivation and trust of the other forces to continue this process will decrease.On the other hand, Damascus’s failure to identify and punish the perpetrators of such attacks could reinforce the perception in Kurdish areas that the integration of Kurdish forces was carried out without clear mechanisms for protecting, holding accountable, and guaranteeing their rights. In contrast, a transparent and judicial treatment of the perpetrators of Hazni’s murder could allow the Syrian government to demonstrate that the integration of Kurdish forces does not simply mean their absorption into formal structures, but also a commitment by the government to ensure their security and equal rights.

In this way, the case of Hazni’s murder in Sipan has now become a practical test of the integration process between the former Syrian Democratic Forces and the Damascus government; a test whose outcome could affect the level of trust Kurds have in the new Syrian security structures, as well as the future of relations between Kurds and Arab communities in the northeast of the country.