Syria reaches new truce as Kurdish-led forces leave camp for Islamic State homes

The Syrian government has announced a new ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the militia alliance withdrew from a camp housing thousands of people it said was linked to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

The SDF said its troops were “forced” to leave Al-Hol camp and redeploy to other cities in northeastern Syria “due to the international community’s indifference to the Islamic State problem.”

Syria’s interior ministry complained that the incident was carried out without coordination with the government or the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State.

Later, the presidential palace said it had reached an “understanding” with the SDF on the future of Hasakah province, which has a large Kurdish population.

The SDF will have four days to negotiate a detailed plan for the peaceful integration of areas under its control into the country, a statement said.

The president also promised that government forces would not enter the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli or any Kurdish villages.

Meanwhile, the SDF declared its “full commitment to the ceasefire” and said its forces would not launch any military action unless under attack.

The SDF also said it was ready to “continue implementing” an agreement reached with the government on Sunday that was supposed to end nearly two weeks of fighting.

The deal should bring the autonomous Kurdish region in the country’s northeast and its key infrastructure under government control and integrate tens of thousands of SDF fighters into defense and interior ministry forces.

It’s a major blow to the SDF, which has been reluctant to give up the autonomy it won for Syria’s Kurdish minority when it helped the U.S.-led coalition militarily defeat Islamic State during Syria’s 13-year civil war.

Interim President Ahmed Salah has vowed to unify Syria since leading a rebel offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, but the country remains deeply divided and buffeted by a wave of deadly sectarian violence.

The SDF announced a withdrawal from Al-Hol camp as the Syrian army and Interior Ministry forces advanced deeper into Hasakah province after taking control of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.

Due to the international community’s indifference to the issue of the Islamic State terrorist organization and its failure to shoulder its responsibility to address this serious problem, our troops were forced to withdraw from Camp al-Hol and redeploy near northern Syrian cities facing increasing risks and threats.

In a statement to the Kurdish news agency Hawar, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi urged the U.S.-led coalition – once his main ally – to “take responsibility for protecting the facilities.”

“We retreated to Kurdish-dominated areas and protecting them was a red line,” he added.

Syria’s interior ministry said SDF forces withdrew from al-Khor without any coordination “in an attempt to pressure the government on the fight against terrorism.”

The ministry added that it was “taking all necessary measures to maintain security and stability in coordination and cooperation with the international coalition”.

The Defense Ministry also said it was ready to take control of the camp and all prisons in the area holding suspected Islamic State militants.

Before fighting with the government broke out earlier this month, the SDF held about 8,000 suspected Islamic State militants in prisons in northeastern Syria.

Some 34,000 people linked to Islamic State are also detained in al-Hol and another camp in Roj, the United Nations reported last August. The camp’s population includes 6,700 Iraqis, 15,500 Syrians and 8,500 citizens of other countries, including the UK, 60% of whom are children.

The SDF, the United States and the United Nations have long called for the repatriation of foreign Islamic State suspects and their families from northeastern Syria, citing political instability and poor conditions in prisons and camps, but many countries have refused to take them.

Earlier, the government and the SDF blamed each other over the escape of suspected Islamic State militants from a prison run by the SDF in Shadadi, in southern Hasakah province.

The interior ministry said late Monday that its special forces and army soldiers had entered the town after “some 120 (Islamic State) terrorists” escaped from a prison. The statement added that security forces’ raids resulted in the arrest of 81 fugitives.

The SDF said it lost control of Shadadi prison in the afternoon after a series of attacks by “Damascus-affiliated factions” that killed dozens of SDF fighters, saying the militants had been trying to “prevent a serious security disaster”.

SDF spokesman Farhad Al-Shami said about 1,500 Islamic State members escaped during the clashes, Reuters reported.

The SDF also accused government forces of attacking the Aktan prison north of the city of Raqqa, where Islamic State members and leaders are held.

On Tuesday, a statement said the prison’s buildings and facilities were shelled and the water supply was cut off. “These practices are a flagrant violation of humanitarian standards and pose a serious threat to the lives of detainees,” the report warned.

However, the Ministry of Defense denied that there had been any clashes near the prison.

The statement said the facility was “completely secure” and that military police and internal security forces were deployed around the facility and were in contact with the government to ensure supplies were delivered.

A White House official said that the United States, once the main ally of the Self-Defense Forces in Syria, is “seriously paying attention” to developments in Syria.

“We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid actions that could further escalate tensions, and prioritize the protection of civilians from all minority groups,” they added.

Meanwhile, Special Envoy Tom Barak explained that the rationale for the U.S. partnership with the SDF has “largely expired” and that the U.S. is now focused on securing facilities holding ISIS prisoners and facilitating negotiations between the SDF and President Shara’s government on the implementation of a ceasefire.

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After signing the deal with the SDF on Sunday, Sala said he hoped the agreement would allow Syria to “end the state of division and move towards unity and progress.” However, Abdi said the fighting was “forced on us” and he accepted the deal “to stop the bloodshed”.