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The Syrian government has confirmed it has taken control of a key prison holding thousands of ISIS detainees following the withdrawal of Kurdish-led SDF forces under a recently brokered ceasefire agreement.
Getting into it: According to Syria’s Interior Ministry, al-Aqtan prison in the northern city of Raqqa was officially transferred to the control of government authorities following days of negotiations with the SDF. The facility, which had been under SDF administration for years, houses up to 2,000 detainees, many of whom are believed to be affiliated with ISIS. The transition took place under a four-day ceasefire agreement that allowed SDF fighters to evacuate safely to the Kurdish-controlled city of Kobane, as Syrian forces advanced rapidly and surrounded former SDF strongholds in Raqqa.
The ceasefire agreement, signed between interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, was designed to facilitate a peaceful handover of territory and detention centers, while aiming to integrate SDF forces into the national defense and interior ministries. The US-backed SDF, once the primary force fighting ISIS in Syria, has been under increasing pressure from renewed Syrian military offensives in early January. These offensives led to significant territorial losses for the SDF and left key areas, including detention centers, increasingly vulnerable.
Despite this, concerns still remain over the fate and security of ISIS detainees still held in northeastern Syria. The US military has begun relocating thousands of detainees to neighboring Iraq, responding to fears of instability and escape attempts amid the shifting control of prisons. Roughly 200 ISIS fighters recently escaped from Shaddadi prison during the chaos of military handovers, although most have been recaptured, according to Syrian state media.
This all comes as Syrian forces continue to push against remaining SDF-controlled pockets in the northeast.
