Following a deal between the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, and the new Syrian government, nearly 100 people detained by the terrorist organization in Aleppo were released on Thursday.
In exchange, the Syrian regime released 97 PKK/YPG members.
The exchanges took place at the Layramoun Junction in Aleppo province, following the agreement signed by the two sides on Tuesday.
As part of the first phase of the swap, the group freed approximately 100 people who had been held since the Baath regime's collapse.
This comes after a Syrian official a day earlier announced that the YPG would pull out of Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.
"All military forces will withdraw to northeastern Syria," said Lt. Col. Mohammed Abdul Ghani.
"Specific arrangements will be made by central committees and the Defense Ministry regarding the SDF's military status. There will be no military presence in these two neighborhoods. Necessary mechanisms will be established, and the areas will be demilitarized."
The deal was signed in February by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named "Mazloum Kobani," the wanted ringleader of the SDF. It marks a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government led by the group that led the ousting of dictator Bashar Assad in December.
The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye in the northeast, airports and oil fields under the control of the central government.
The process of integrating former PKK/YPG terrorist members into Syria’s army and security forces will be closely followed by Ankara. Türkiye advocates that these forces should not focus on a specific area and should be scattered in a homogenous way. Furthermore, Türkiye had previously underlined that foreigners within the SDF must leave the country.
The SDF, a U.S.-backed armed wing of the YPG, currently controls one-third of Syria's territory, including most of the country's oil and gas fields. The YPG uses the name SDF to give itself an air of legitimacy.