New batch of Damascus-SDF prisoners to be exchanged Sunday: Advisor
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A new batch of prisoners is scheduled to be exchanged on Sunday between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Damascus administration as part of a recent agreement, an advisor to the Kurdish-led northeast Syria (Rojava) administration said.
'The main work now is focused on prisoners,' Bedran Ciya Kurd, advisor to the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), told Rudaw's Hussein Omar on Saturday, calling the planned Sunday prisoner exchange 'a gesture of goodwill from both sides to build trust.'
The SDF and the new leadership in Damascus on Tuesday struck an agreement to exchange all prisoners and keep the SDF-affiliated internal security forces (Asayish) in Aleppo's predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood.
On Thursday, the first exchange of nearly 250 prisoners between the two sides took place.
A day later, Kurdish forces of the People's Protection Units (YPG) – the backbone of the SDF – began withdrawing from the predominantly Kurdish
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on March 10 to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a countrywide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns.
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