Shafaq News- Hasakah

Dozens of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prisoners arrived in Hasakah on Saturday after Damascus released them in the third prisoner exchange since the January 18 agreement between the two sides, Shafaq News correspondent reported.

The Asayish internal security forces published a list of 198 SDF members released by the Syrian government today, as part of a batch expected to total around 400, according to official Syrian government statements issued yesterday. In a simultaneous exchange, the SDF released 90 detainees from its own prisons, handing them over to the Syrian authorities in the town of Shaddadi south of Hasakah.

Presidential envoy Brigadier General Ziad al-Ayesh told Syrian television that the latest release brought the total number freed to roughly 1,500, with only a small number remaining. "This is a humanitarian file, not a negotiating one," he said, noting it was being pursued under the direct attention of transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa. He added that the Interior Ministry would take full control of SDF-run prisons going forward, while the Justice Ministry would review the files of all detainees facing criminal charges.

Families of prisoners told Shafaq News that despite the latest batch, the fate of dozens of their relatives remained unknown -they did not know whether they were still held, had been killed in battle, or went missing during the SDF's withdrawal from eastern Aleppo countryside, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor at the start of the year.

Previous exchanges released 100 SDF members on March 10 and 300 on March 19. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi had previously disclosed that 1,070 of his fighters were held in Syrian government prisons.