ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish fighter released from Syrian government custody has alleged systematic torture and arbitrary detentions, saying prisoners were abused daily and civilians were rounded up to be used in negotiations.
“They tortured us every day in prison,” Ismail Sheikhmous, a newly-released fighter with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told Rudaw's Dilbxwin Dara in an interview on Sunday, referring to Syrian government forces.
Sheikmus was captured during a period of intense escalation between Syrian government forces and the SDF earlier this year, following a Damascus-led offensive across northeast Syria (Rojava) that triggered heavy clashes in areas including Aleppo’s countryside and other contested frontlines.
After spending three months in detention, and having been taken not in combat but following a withdrawal agreement in Rojava, he recounted the harsh conditions inside Syrian-run prisons.
Sheikmus alleged that detainees were subjected to daily torture by Syrian security forces. “They beat us with green hoses and sticks," he said, adding that: "Our food for every 24 hours was just one piece of bread and some tomato broth.”
Despite the conditions, Sheikmus said detainees maintained morale and staged a hunger strike in protest.
He also accused Syrian authorities of targeting Kurdish civilians to inflate detainee numbers for use in prisoner exchanges.
“90 percent of those detained civilians were Kurds. They arrested civilians to increase the prisoner count during negotiations and to swap them for their own prisoners held by other parties,” he said.