ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Around 90 detainees affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were released by Syrian authorities on Monday, state media reported, marking the fifth batch of such releases carried out under a landmark January agreement between Damascus and northeast Syria (Rojava).
Nour al-Din Ahmed, governor of the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province in Rojava, stated that “the number of those released today [Monday] stands at 88 individuals,” according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), adding that the release “is a continuation of previous batches that have already been freed, with support and oversight from the Syrian leadership.”
He also anticipated that “another batch is expected to be released today or tomorrow, while the aim is to free all detainees after the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday,” which is set to be celebrated on Wednesday.
Moreover, the release is part of wider efforts to implement the January 29 agreement between the SDF and the Syrian interim authorities, SANA said.
The latter agreement was struck between the SDF and Damascus, with significant mediation from the United States through its Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, as well as Kurdish political figures from the Kurdistan Region.
It followed a sharp escalation in mid-January, after Syrian government forces and affiliated armed groups seized territory previously held by SDF forces in eastern Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasaka provinces.
The SDF, which serves as the de facto military force in Rojava and is a key on-the-ground partner of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS), played a central role in liberating these areas from the extremist group in 2019 and had since maintained control over them in efforts to prevent its resurgence.
Under the January 29 agreement, a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire was established, alongside provisions for the integration of civil and military institutions in Rojava into the Syrian state. The two sides also agreed on a gradual prisoner exchange process and broader integration steps, including the formation of three SDF brigades within the Syrian army.
About 1,070 SDF-linked individuals were detained by the Syrian interim government in January. Following the release of the fifth batch on Monday, roughly 890 SDF-linked detainees have now been freed from Syrian government custody.