Nineveh assures citizens: all is good on the western front
Shafaq News/ Iraq's governorate of Nineveh on Wednesday assured residents its border with Syria was secure following the release of prisoners by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), downplaying concerns of infiltration.
A security committee meeting led by Governor Abdul-Qader al-Dakheel addressed the issue, according to a security source.
The source confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that "all attendees agreed that the situation is under control and there are no concerns about the release of prisoners to Nineveh."
The head of the Nineveh Council's Security and Defense Committee, Mohammed al-Kakaii, echoed this sentiment. He said in a press conference that "there are no concerns on the Iraqi-Syrian border...after the Syrian Democratic Forces released 1561 prisoners...most of whom are Arabs, foreigners, and Syrians, and there are no Iraqis among them."
Al-Kakai stressed that the security situation in the governorate has been stable since 2014. He cited enhanced border measures, including joint patrols and logistical support. "There is no danger to the current situation," he concluded.
On Monday, Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria's al-Hasakah released 180 prisoners held on terrorism charges and over links to the Islamic State (ISIS) group.
Last week, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) issued a general amnesty for hundreds of Syrians who have been held by the US-backed SDF over their alleged role in ISIS.
Syrian news outlets reported that hundreds of people gathered in front of the al-Sinaa prison in the Ghweiran district of al-Hasakah on Sunday, as they awaited the release of the detainees.
The SDF is holding over 10,000 IS fighters, including 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them, in around two dozen detention centers in northeast Syria.
The amnesty offered to over 1,500 prisoners, including 60 women, was a result of pressure from influential tribes and figures in the region, according to Syrian media.
Among the prisoners slated for release are those who have incurable illnesses and are serving life sentences, in addition to detainees who are 75 years of age and above.
The amnesty, however, will not include ISIS officials and members who fought in battles against the SDF, nor those who carried out deadly bombing attacks.
In April, Amnesty International reported that hundreds of detainees have died as a consequence of torture and inhumane treatment in SDF-run prisons in northeast Syria for people suspected of links to ISIS.
The rights organization also said that scores and possibly hundreds of Yazidis captured and enslaved during the ISIS genocidal campaign against the minority group in Iraq and Syria likely remained among about 14,500 women and 30,000 children being held at al-Hol and al-Roj detention camps in northeast Syria.
Most of those held in the camps were rounded up during the final battles between ISIS militants and the SDF near Baghouz, a town in Deir al-Zor, in 2019, and many women were victims of trafficking and forced marriages with ISIS militants, it said.
