Syrian government reaches deal in prisoner exchange

On the 31st of March, the Syrian government agreed with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to exchange military personnel and civilians whom the Kurdish group has held.

According to The New Arab, the deal will be applied in the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh areas of Aleppo.

The decision appears to have come after a prisoner exchange took place between the SDF and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) days earlier, following weeks of battles in eastern Aleppo.

This exchange saw the SDF receive 40 people from the SNA in exchange for the return of 25 people. The deal also came alongside a ceasefire in the area.

The SNA is a Turkish backed rebel group and is used to fight the SDF. The SNA currently supports the Syrian government while being controlled by Turkey.

This exchange with the SDF by both forces suggests the Syrian government is trying to solidify its power and gain unity in the post-Assad era.

This was escalated on the 10th of March when the Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi announced they had struck a deal to merge “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” into the national administration.

This was furthered by the recent exchange between the government and the SDF with the new government’s goal of stability in the region progressing over the last month.

While these positive actions have been taken in the country, the US and the West still maintain sanctions on Syria from the Assad regime era and continue to withhold removing those until the new government proves its intentions for peace and stability.

The UN has condemned recent actions when pro-government fighters killed over 1,000 people in the Northwestern region, including civilians.

Yet the recent agreements with the Kurdish SDF forces and the Druze in the south appear to show that the government is attempting to find a solution to cement their power and stability in the country.

It is now up to al-Sharaa’s government to find more solutions to stabilise the country in the post-Assad era if they are to gain Western support and remove sanctions.

The New Arab, Maghrebi.org