Syria
A tank belonging to Damascus-backed armed factions on their way to the city of Hasaka in northeastern Syria on January 20, 2026. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) wants the ongoing tensions between the Kurdish-led forces and the Syrian Arab Army to stop, a Rojava official said on Saturday.
A four-day ceasefire aimed at halting clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and armed groups aligned with Damascus is set to expire on Saturday.
"We want the war to stop; it must stop. Right now, the Americans are working on transferring ISIS members to Iraq, and they want the fighting to halt," Elham Ahmed, co-chair of Rojava's foreign relations office, told Rudaw.
Another Kurdish official indicated that the ceasefire has been extended and will last for a month. However, the Syrian state media cited an government official as denying the reports about the extension.
On Wednesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that 150 ISIS detainees were being transferred from a Hasaka prison to a secure facility in Iraq, noting that up to 7,000 ISIS prisoners could eventually be relocated to Iraqi-controlled sites.
The developments follow reports that hundreds of ISIS prisoners escaped SDF-run detention facilities this week after attacks by Damascus-affiliated armed groups. Kurdish-led forces also withdrew from the al-Hol camp, southeast of Hasaka, which houses roughly 25,000 family members of ISIS fighters.
Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have repeatedly urged the international community to repatriate refugees and prosecute their citizens for terror-related crimes. In June, Iraq and the United Nations agreed to repatriate all Iraqi nationals from al-Hol camp by 2027.
On Friday, Syria’s Arab Army announced it had transferred SDF members from al-Aqtan prison and surrounding areas in Raqqa province to the Kurdish-held town of Kobane as part of the ceasefire arrangement.
The transfer marks the first step in implementing a January 18 agreement between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi, which hands control of detention facilities to Syria’s Interior Ministry.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article mistakenly quoted that Elham Ahmed as saying the ceasefire had been extended.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment