Kurdish Forces Say Al-Hasakah Prison With ‘Thousands’ Of ISIS Detainees Is Out Of Control (Videos)

Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on January 19 that it has lost control of a prison with thousands of ISIS detainees in the northeastern Syrian governorate of al-Hasakah after a wave of attacks by “ factions” to the Islamist-led Syrian Transitional Government (STG).

In a statement, the Kurdish-led group said that its fighters repelled several attacks on the prison, located near the town of al-Shaddadi in the southern al-Hasakah countryside, but lost control after sustaining losses and receiving no support from the United States-led coalition.

“Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces confronted these attacks and succeeded in repelling them several times, resulting in the martyrdom of dozens of our fighters and the injury of others, in an effort to prevent a serious security catastrophe,” the SDF said.

“Although Al-Shaddadi Prison is located approximately two kilometers from the International Coalition base in the area, the base did not intervene, despite repeated calls for intervention,” the group continued.

“Accordingly, we inform public opinion that Al-Shaddadi Prison has currently fallen outside the control of our forces as a result of these developments,” it added.

As the prison was under attack, the state-run SANA news agency reported, citing military sources, that STG forces had deployed around the city of al-Hasakah.

Government forces and affiliated tribes expelled the SDF from most of the Arab-majority governorates of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, in northern and eastern Syria a day earlier. The group also lost a vast area in the eastern Aleppo countryside, close to the town of Kobani, one of its main strongholds.

This happened as Syrian President Ahamad al-Sharaa announced a merger agreement with SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi.

The 14-point agreement, which was brokered by the U.S., states that Raqqa and Deir Ezzor should be completely handed over to the STG.

As for Al-Hasakah and Kobani, where most of the population are Kurds, the agreement is vague. It says that areas there should be integrated into government structures, without clarifying the future of the SDFs’ civil self-administration in any way.

Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Ministry of Defense)

In addition to the attack on al-Shaddadi prison, STG forces attacked al-Aqttan Prison, which also hosts ISIS detainees, in the outskirts of the city of Raqqa.

SDF fighters holding up there are reportedly negotiating to withdraw. The group said that nine were killed and 20 were wounded. Meanwhile, SANA reported that STG forces, namely the military police, were deployed around the prison.

Amid these developments, Abdi arrived in Damascus to hold talks with Sharaa on the implementation of the merger agreement.

The balance of power is now completely in favor of the STG. Due to this, Sharaa will likely adopt a more strict stance and attempt to use the agreement to fully dismantle the SDF. The U.S. has not offered the Kurds any support whatsoever. If this does not change, the agreement will likely collapse and the government will likely move to take over everything by force.

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