![Nowruz Ahmed, a senior commander in the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) in Damascus, Syria on August 25, 2026. [Izz Aldien Alqasem - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AA-20260825-42306227-42306216-SYRIAN_PRESIDENT_AHMED_ALSHARAA_MEETS_MAZLOUM_ABDI_IN_DAMASCUS-1-1-1.jpg)
A senior commander in the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), Nowruz Ahmed, said the unit’s fighters were told during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus last week that there was “no place for them in the army”. Ahmed told Reuters that “talks have shifted towards finding an alternative path within the Interior Ministry”. She said the YPJ had sought to join the army because its fighters had military experience and capabilities, allowing them to serve within an organised force capable of defending itself. She added that contacts were under way with the Interior Ministry to agree on a formula that would ensure the force remained within an institutional framework while retaining an organised combat formation suited to […]
