Syrian government troops tightened their grip yesterday across a swathe of northern and eastern territory after it was abruptly abandoned by Kurdish forces in a dramatic shift that has consolidated President Ahmed Al Sharaa’s rule.
A day after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), once the main US ally in Syria, agreed to quit large areas under a ceasefire, the Syrian army said ‘a number of’ Islamic State militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them.
The SDF said it had lost control of the prison following an attack by government fighters.
The Syrian army denied attacking the jail and said its forces would work to secure the prison and re-arrest the escapees.
The SDF said Shaddadi prison had held thousands of militants.
The army did not say how many IS detainees had fled.
The SDF withdrawals mark the biggest change in Syria’s control map since fighters led by Sharaa toppled President Bashar Al Assad in 2024, tilting the power balance Sharaa’s way after months of deadlock in talks with the SDF over government demands its forces merge fully with Damascus.
After days of fighting with government forces, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw from both Raqqa and Deir Al Zor – two Arab-majority provinces they had controlled for years and the location of Syria’s main oil fields.
Türkiye, which has repeatedly sent forces into northern Syria to curb Kurdish power since 2016, welcomed the deal signed by its ally Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the swift implementation of the agreement.
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