Syrian government and SDF exchange 250 prisoners in Aleppo

The Al-Sheihan roundabout in the city of Aleppo witnessed on Thursday the first prisoner exchange between the Internal Security Forces of the Syrian Ministry of Interior and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in implementation of an agreement reached between the two sides.

According to Syria TV, around 250 detainees were exchanged between the Internal Security Forces and the SDF, in the presence of committees formed to oversee the implementation of the deal.

The exchange reportedly included the release of 100 individuals—both civilians and military personnel—back to the Syrian state, represented by the Internal Security Forces. These individuals had been detained by the SDF in Aleppo after the regime’s fall, in exchange for the handover of about 150 SDF prisoners. 

On April 1, a committee appointed by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Civil Council of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighbourhoods reached an agreement to settle the situation in the two areas.

The 14-clause agreement stipulates the withdrawal of military forces from both neighbourhoods, along with their weapons, to northeastern Syria, and bans the presence of armed groups in the area.

The agreement also stipulates the “emptying of prisons by both parties in Aleppo province and the exchange of all prisoners captured after the liberation”.

It also calls for the “formation of coordination committees to facilitate movement between Aleppo and northeastern Syria, and committees within the two neighbourhoods to implement the agreement on the ground”.

On Friday, SANA reported that the SDF has begun withdrawing from Aleppo city, heading toward the designated areas east of the Euphrates River, under the supervision of the Syrian Ministry of Defence.

The news agency confirmed that Syrian army forces had reached the vicinity of SDF deployment areas in the city and have assumed responsibility for securing the route the departing convoy will take from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighbourhoods. 

The deal is part of a series of agreements between the Syrian government and the SDF that will eventually see the US-backed group hand over all of the territories it occupies and integrate its military forces into the Syrian army.