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.”
"In the coming days, some more exchanges will take place, but this also takes time," he added.
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.
Asked if the agreement between the SDF and Damascus have any impact on the condition of Kurds living in Afrin, Kurd said the deal is "the first step toward ending the displacement of Kurds from Afrin."
He elaborated that "the agreement relates to Afrin in two main points: First, the issue of detainees must be resolved. Second, our people should be able to freely come and go in Afrin without facing violations, so that people no longer suffer hardships and mistreatment."
The advisor expected more discussions with Damascus on Afrin.
"These are initial steps, and later we will discuss with the Damascus authorities the issue of people leaving Afrin and ending the presence of armed groups that are the source of instability and violations."
Updated on April 9, 2025 with more details.
