Aleppo prisoner exchange resumes today

The implementation of Article 12 of the agreement between the General Council of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and the Damascus Authority, which stipulates the whitewashing of prisons between the two sides, will resume today.

On April 1, 2025, an agreement was signed between the General Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and the Damascus Authority, which includes 14 main clauses, including promoting coexistence and protecting residents, preventing armed manifestations, organizing internal security, forming committees to implement the clauses and facilitating movement.

Article 12 of the agreement stipulates "the emptying of prisons by both sides in Aleppo province and the exchange of all prisoners who were captured after liberation."

Sources from the General Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods confirmed that the exchange process will resume in its second phase today, after it was postponed on May 28, due to several obstacles that were resolved, mainly the issue of the Damascus authority's refusal to hand over YPJ fighters.

The resumption came after the last meeting held between the delegation of the NE Syria and the Damascus authority on Sunday, June 1, in the capital Damascus, one of the clauses of which stated: "Reactivating the file of the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods, and seeking to address it in a way that serves stability and civil peace."

The number of detainees between the two sides is about 466, including 290 fighters and civilians for the General Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and 176 members of groups affiliated with the Damascus authority.

The first exchange took place on April 3, two days after the signing of the agreement between the two sides, when 146 detainees, mostly civilians, were released and 97 Damascus Authority fighters, mostly from the Turkish occupation mercenaries "National Army," were released.

The announcement comes amid great anticipation from the families and relatives of the detainees.

Sh-S

ANHA