Damascus to release 250 SDF-linked detainees, tensions in Hasaka contained: Governor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Some 250 detainees affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are set to be released from Damascus custody on Friday, the governor of Hasaka in northeast Syria (Rojava) told Rudaw.

Nour al-Din Ahmed further noted that the situation in the Kurdish-majority province has calmed down a day after protesters forcibly removed a sign from the Justice Palace in Hasaka that had replaced Kurdish and Arabic writing with Arabic and English instead.

“Preparations are underway to release around 250 detainees,” Ahmed confirmed. While some 1,070 SDF-linked individuals were held by Damascus, around 800 have already been released. Another 300 remain in detention but “are also set to be released soon. However, the process has not yet been completed and no date has been set,” he added.

The latest releases of detainees are linked to a landmark January 29 agreement reached between the SDF and Damascus, with significant mediation from the United States through its Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, as well as Kurdish political figures from the Kurdistan Region.

The deal followed a sharp escalation in mid-January, when Syrian government forces and affiliated armed groups seized territory previously held by SDF forces in eastern Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasaka provinces.

The SDF, which serves as the de facto military force in Rojava and is a key on-the-ground partner of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS), played a central role in liberating these areas from the extremist group in 2019 and had since maintained control over them in efforts to prevent its resurgence.

Under the agreement, a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire was established, alongside provisions for the integration of civil and military institutions in Rojava into the Syrian state. The two sides also agreed on a gradual prisoner exchange process and broader integration steps, including the formation of three SDF brigades within the Syrian army.

Meanwhile, Syrian authorities on Thursday removed a sign at the Justice Palace in Hasaka that previously displayed Kurdish and Arabic, replacing it with one in English and Arabic. The move sparked public anger among Kurdish residents, who gathered outside the building chanting “Kurdistan,” and later removed the newly installed sign by force.

The Syrian justice ministry said in a statement on Friday that it would “pursue those involved in the riots and acts of vandalism that targeted the Justice Palace in Hasaka,” adding that “it will take all necessary legal measures to bring them before the competent judiciary.”

It described the incidents as “violations of public order” and acts of “mayhem that threaten social security and stability,” adding that such behavior “undermines the authority of the state and the rule of law, and must therefore be dealt with firmly within the framework of applicable laws.”

Nonetheless, Hasaka Governor Ahmed told Rudaw that “the tension sparked by the Justice Palace incident has been contained and we have moved past it,” adding that “the building will resume operations in the coming period,” and anticipating that “Kurdish-language writing will be added to signs in Kurdish-majority areas.”