Syria’s interim government says it has reached a landmark agreement with Kurdish-led forces to integrate them into state institutions as it tries to unify the country’s diverse communities after a decade of civil war.

The agreement marked a major victory for Damascus in its quest to unify the country, as violent unrest continues to grip Syria’s coastal region.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls much of the oil-rich northeast, signed a deal with the government on Monday to integrate its civilian and military institutions with the new state.