ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Families of captives detained by the Syrian interim government held a vigil on Monday in Qamishli city, northeast Syria (Rojava), demanding the return of their relatives as a prisoner exchange deal between Kurdish-led forces and Damascus proceeds slowly.
“It’s been four months since I last heard his voice,” Najla Mohammed, mother of a Kurdish fighter, told Rudaw at the vigil. “I don’t know what to say, but I miss him terribly,” she added.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi said in March that around 1,100 SDF fighters and Kurdish civilians were captured by the Syrian interim government in January, when Damascus-affiliated forces launched a sweeping military campaign against the Kurdish-led group, seizing areas in eastern Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and parts of Hasaka province.
International mediation led to a 14-point agreement between the two sides, which included a gradual prisoner exchange and broader integration steps, such as forming three SDF brigades within the Syrian army and incorporating the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava into state institutions.