QAMISHLI, Syria - Dozens of Syrian government-affiliated internal security forces entered Kurdish-controlled areas in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Monday, marking the first phase of an internationally brokered agreement between Damascus and the Kurds.
The deployment coincided with what Rudaw understands is the transfer of a new batch of Islamic State (ISIS) prisoners - previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Rojava - from Syria to Iraq.
‘Limited’ Syrian presence
Around 100 personnel from Damascus’ internal security forces were sent to Hasaka city in eastern Rojava, security officials on the ground told Rudaw, without any major incidents recorded.
Marwan al-Ali, the newly appointed head of Hasaka’s Internal Security - affiliated with Damascus - was cited by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) instructing his personnel ahead of deployment to “carry out security tasks according to established strategies, comply with laws and regulations, follow procedures systematically, maintain public safety and order, and protect citizens and property."
Speaking to Rudaw in Hasaka, Ali said, “We are here to implement the [internationally brokered] agreement and ensure security and safety for the people.” In a video shared by SANA on X, Ali also said that the deployment came “in coordination with the [Kurdish Internal Security] forces (Asayish) in Hasaka, which will be integrated under the Syrian interior ministry.”
“We have deployed a limited number of forces,” the newly appointed head of Hasaka’s security elaborated, noting that a “similarly numbered deployment” is planned for the Kurdish city of Qamishli in northern Syria on Tuesday, and that “more provisions of the agreement will be implemented, including the integration of forces.”
Rudaw’s cameras captured Ali’s arrival at Hasaka’s Traffic Directorate, where he posed for photos with commanders from the Syrian forces and the Asayish - affiliated with the SDF - including Siamand Afrin, a senior commander of the Kurdish Internal Security Forces who was appointed as Ali’s deputy in Hasaka.
Afrin corroborated Ali’s remarks that the presence of Syrian forces in the city would be limited. “They have come to stay for a while, and afterward they will leave,” he told Rudaw.
ISIS detainees in transit
Crucially, Hasaka is home to the notorious Ghuwayran prison, which Iraqi security sources told Rudaw in late January houses some of ISIS’s “most dangerous” members, including members of the group’s top echelon.
Ghuwayran is a high-security facility that drew international attention in January 2022, when ISIS launched a massive operation to free thousands of its fighters, including hundreds of minors raised under the extremist group’s so-called “Cubs of the Caliphate.” After a brutal 10-day battle, the US-backed SDF regained control, though the facility is still described as a ticking time bomb.
On Monday, as Damascus security forces prepared to enter Hasaka, Rudaw observed several US armored vehicles escorting five coaches from Qamishli toward the Iraqi border. The buses, Rudaw understands, carried dozens of ISIS detainees previously held by the SDF.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on January 21 that “U.S. forces successfully transported 150 ISIS fighters held at a detention facility in Hasaka, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq,” adding that “ultimately, up to 7,000 ISIS detainees” from multiple detention facilities in Rojava “could be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.”
As of late January, two well-placed Iraqi security sources speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter told Rudaw that four convoys carrying 475 Islamic State (ISIS) detainees have been transferred from prisons previously held by the SDF in Rojava, noting that the suspects were primarily held in facilities in Hasaka.
The SDF, which serve as the de facto military force in Rojava, are a key on-the-ground ally of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and played a crucial role in the extremist group’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019. The Kurdish-led forces also acted as wardens for thousands of ISIS militants and their family members held in detention facilities across Rojava.
In mid-January, Syrian government forces and affiliated armed groups launched a large-scale offensive to retake areas previously held by the SDF after they were liberated from ISIS. These regions include parts of eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa provinces, as well as areas near Hasaka.
Amid the offensive, the SDF announced that it had lost control of several facilities holding ISIS detainees, including the al-Shaddadi prison in southern Hasaka, with reports indicating that between 120 and 1,500 detainees may have escaped during the violence.
Hope amid uncertainty
Some Kurdish security forces tasked with guarding the convoy of ISIS detainees as it passed through Qamishli to the Iraqi border spoke to Rudaw, expressing a mix of hope and unease over the latest ceasefire agreement.
