The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the interim government of Syria, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, have struck a deal to exchange prisoners following Sunday’s meeting between a delegation representing the Kurdish-led autonomous region of northeast Syria and officials from the central government, a top Syrian Kurdish official told Al-Monitor.
Foza Yusuf, a leading member of the Kurdish-led delegation, said that 290 individuals — including seven female fighters from the Women’s Protection Units, the all-female force that played a critical role in the fight against the Islamic State — would be freed on Monday and handed over to the SDF in Aleppo. The Kurdish side is set to free 176 prisoners, including those linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group led by Sharaa before he overthrew Syria’s longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. The exchange marks an important step in ongoing efforts to normalize relations between the Kurdish-led region and the central government, Yusuf told Al-Monitor in exclusive remarks.
The exchange was initially planned for last week, as previously reported by Al-Monitor, but was postponed amid differences over which prisoners would be freed. The Kurdish-led delegation was supposed to hold its meeting with interim government counterparts on Friday but that meeting was also postponed until Sunday by the interim government. Yusuf said the talks had gone well and that the sides had discussed the nature of several committees that will be established to resolve outstanding issues such as the recognition of high school diplomas issued by the Kurdish authorities.
Brig. Gen. Ziyad Fawaz al-Ayesh, who was appointed by the interim government last week as deputy minister of interior for civil affairs and is a member of the team negotiating with the Kurds, told the state-run SANA news agency that an agreement had been reached pertaining to university entrance exams and where they would be conducted. Ayesh added that a mechanism for facilitating the return of internally displaced persons had also been taken up.
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