The Syrian government has accused the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of allowing Islamic State (IS) fighters to escape from custody amid intense fighting in the country’s Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and eastern Aleppo regions.
According to a Syrian government statement issued late on Monday, IS fighters escaped from a prison in the town of al-Shaddadah, around 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Syria’s border with Iraq. However, the SDF has rejected the Syrian government’s claims, stating it had no role in the prisoners’ release and that
it lost control of the facility after an attack by government forces.
The Syrian army has denied attacking the prison, and said its forces would work to secure the facility and re-arrest the escapees. According to Kurdish-led sources, as many as 1,500 fighters escaped, prompting the government to impose a curfew in al-Shaddadah following the incident. SDF controls nearly a dozen prison facilities in northeast Syria, where an estimated 9,000 IS fighters have been held for years.
Many of the detainees are believed to have committed crimes against humanity in Syria and neighbouring Iraq after IS declared a caliphate in June 2014.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump urged Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to halt the violence between government forces and the SDF, according to a readout of the call released by the Syrian presidency.
The Syrian presidency said both leaders stressed the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state. The statement further noted that the two leaders agreed to continue cooperation in the fight against IS.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, “All military activities must cease immediately.” However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed Syria’s army for its “careful” offensive despite what he described as “provocations”.
Türkiye considers the SDF a terrorist organisation because of its links to the Kurdish ethnic minority spread across Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Kurds affiliated with the YPG and PKK have carried out multiple terror attacks inside Türkiye.
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