Press Briefing with General Mazloum Abdi Kobane, Syrian Democratic Forces

EVENT DETAILS

What: Briefing and Q&A session
When: Thursday, February 27, 2025, 11:00 AM ET – 12:30 PM ET
Where: Murrow Room, The National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045
Who: General Mazloum Abdi Kobane of the Syrian Democratic Forces (joining via video call)

Washington DC – A press briefing will be held with General Mazloum Abdi Kobane, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), at the National Press Club in Washington DC. Gen Mazloum will join the press briefing via video call, and he is expected to engage in a Q&A session following his remarks. During the briefing, Gen Mazloum is expected to speak on the critical situation in Syria following the end of the Assad regime. He will offer remarks on the negotiations with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that is in control of Damascus, and their president Ahmed al-Sharaa. He will discuss the ongoing struggle against ISIS in the region. And he will discuss the ongoing Turkish Armed Forces attacks against civilians, reporters, civilian infrastructure, and the SDF in northeast Syria, in violation of the 2019 ceasefire brokered by the United States.

Gen Mazloum will join the briefing from northeast Syria via an online platform. He will deliver remarks followed by a Q&A session limited to in-person participants in Washington DC. A video of the briefing will be live-streamed at https://www.facebook.com/SyrianDemocraticCouncilUS.

GENERAL MAZLOUM ABDI KOBANE is a Kurdish military leader and the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a multi-ethnic coalition including Kurdish, Arab, Syriac and Assyrian fighters among others. Born in 1967 in Kobani within the Kurdish-majority region of Syria, Abdi became involved in the Kurdish political movement at a young age. He gained prominence during the Syrian Civil War, leading the SDF in key battles against ISIS, including the liberation of Raqqa in 2017. Under his leadership, the SDF has established a multi-ethnic and democratic governance model in northern Syria that ensures rights for minority communities, and enshrines gender-equality. Abdi has navigated complex relationships with international actors, particularly the United States, while addressing regional tensions with Turkey. His commitment to the fight against extremism and his vision for a peaceful, inclusive and democratic future for Syria have made him a significant figure in contemporary Middle Eastern politics.