Syria's interim president signs deal with Kurdish-led SDF to merge forces

CAIRO (Reuters) -The Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls much of Syria's oil-rich northeast, signed a deal with the Damascus government on Monday to join Syria's new state institutions, the Syrian presidency said on Monday. Photos showed interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi shaking hands in Damascus on the agreement that provides for SDF-controlled civilian and military institutions in northeast Syria to be integrated with the state.