1. Farhad Abdi Shaheen, better known by his nom de guerre Mazlum Kobane, is a Syrian Kurdish military leader, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
33 Facts About Mazloum Abdi
1. 2.
Mazloum Abdi's SDF reached an integration agreement with the Syrian transitional government on 10 March 2025 after Mazloum Abdi congratulated Ahmed al-Sharaa on assuming the Syrian transitional presidency.
3.
Ferhad Mazloum Abdi Shaheen was born to Syrian Kurdish parents in Kobani around 1967.
4.
Mazloum Abdi moved to Europe in 1997, where he engaged in Kurdish political activities until 2003.
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Mazloum Abdi served as a member of the PKK high command in 2005.
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Mazloum Abdi was among the teams that included United States Special Operations Command officers who visited and inspected the area where the targets were bombed by Turkish jets in the Karachok Mountain region.
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In July 2019, Mazloum Abdi met with the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and signed a United Nations document on behalf of the SDF.
8.
Mazloum Abdi has stated that he is open to work with the Syrian government within a federal system that includes the existing de facto autonomous region of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
9.
On October 9,2019, the day Operation Peace Spring began, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attaching the letter Mazloum Abdi sent to Trump.
10.
General Mazloum Abdi is willing to negotiate with you and is willing to make concessions that they would never make in the past.
11.
Mazloum Abdi said the operation had been delayed by a month due to Turkey's military build-up at the Syrian border and the Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria that followed.
12.
Mazloum Abdi claimed in an interview with NBC television that the SDF under his command played an active role in the operation in which the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed.
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Mazloum Abdi then stated that the spy managed to obtain a used underwear and blood sample belonging to Baghdadi, that these samples were delivered to the CIA and that the US decided to launch the operation as a result of DNA tests confirming that the person being followed was Baghdadi.
14.
On October 9,2019, US president Donald Trump wrote a note to Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offering to mediate between Turkey and the YPG, saying Mazloum Abdi was "willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past" and enclosing a note from Mazloum Abdi.
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Mazloum Abdi stated that they consider themselves as "Syrian and a part of Syria", adding that they will agree to work with the Syrian Government.
16.
The Syrian Democratic Council and the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, condemned the bombing and blamed Turkish policy, pointing out that "gangs armed by Turkey" had been involved in similar attacks.
17.
On 22 November 2022, Mazloum Abdi claimed the bomber, Albashir, to be related to IS jihadists via her brothers and past husbands, some of whom were killed in battles against Kurdish forces.
18.
Mazloum Abdi called for peace between Turkey and Syrian Kurds, excluding any operation against Turkey in Turkey, and denying responsibility for the bombing.
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Mazloum Abdi vowed however to defend Syrian territories under AANES control.
20.
Mazloum Abdi deplores Erdogan's electoral strategy, preferring war and tension over a peace agreement with his forces, which would be an equally winning electoral strategy.
21.
On 26 November 2022, Mazloum Abdi stated that they halted operations against the Islamic State group due to Turkish attacks on northern Syria.
22.
Mazloum Abdi accused Turkish strikes of causing severe damage to the region's infrastructure.
23.
Mazloum Abdi said that, despite differences, Syrians were united by national honor and independence.
24.
Mazloum Abdi condemned the attacks on Syrians in Kayseri, and called for the protection of their lives and dignity.
25.
Mazloum Abdi welcomed all Syrians who rioted to SDF controlled areas in north and eastern Syria, extending a hand to save the country together.
26.
Mazloum Abdi accused Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan of seeking to destroy the autonomous administration and expel the Syrian Kurds from the northern border region in order to settle Arabs there.
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Mazloum Abdi met with the chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, in Erbil on January 16,2025.
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The Mazloum Abdi denied this, stating it as "psychological warfare" and "propaganda".
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Mazloum Abdi did not participate in this meeting in Damascus.
30.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi has said that one of his central demands is a decentralised administration, in which he proposed to integrate the SDF with the new Defence Ministry, but as "a military bloc" without dissolving the group.
31.
Mazloum Abdi announced the SDF agreed to integrate into state institutions.
32.
Mazloum Abdi condemned the violence against the Alawites, with calling on Ahmad al-Sharaa to hold the perpetrators of the massacres accountable, and to stop the violence.
33.
Mazloum Abdi stated extremist groups were attempting to "create sectarian conflicts and settle internal scores" across Syria.