Damascus, YPG swap prisoners under new Aleppo deal
ALEPPO
The Syrian government and the PKK/YPG terrorist organization have conducted their first prisoner exchange in Aleppo under a recently finalized agreement.
As part of the first phase of the swap, the terror group freed approximately 100 people who had been held since the Baath regime's collapse in December 2024.
In exchange, the Syrian regime released 97 PKK/YPG members. Following the regime's downfall, the PKK/YPG infiltrated central Aleppo and detained a large number of ordinary people, raising widespread concern about their fate.
The exchanges took place at the Layramoun Junction in Aleppo province, following the agreement signed by the two sides on April 1.
The deal with the government and the PKK/YPG-led SDF stipulates that PKK/YPG elements will pull out of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in Aleppo.
The group’s so-called “internal security forces” in those areas will be unified under a single structure and placed under the Interior Ministry, according to Lt. Col. Mohammed Abdul Ghani, who attended talks with the terror group on behalf of the government.
All military forces will withdraw to northeastern Syria, an official said.
“Specific arrangements will be made by central committees and the Defense Ministry regarding the SDF’s military status. There will be no military presence in these two neighborhoods. Necessary mechanisms will be established, and the areas will be demilitarized.”
PKK is listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the U.S., and the EU.
The YPG/PYD is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
