Syrian deal unravels as sides clash and Isis prisoners escape
Integration agreement with the SDF falters amid reports that hundreds of militants fled prison as government forces moved in
A day after a sweeping deal was announced between the Syrian government and the country’s main Kurdish-led force, the agreement appeared to be falling apart on Monday.
After new outbreaks of clashes Monday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement calling for “all of our youth” to “join the ranks of the resistance”.
“Just as our comrades in 2014 forged a historic resistance in Kobani and turned it into a graveyard for (the Islamic State group) ... today we affirm with the same resolve that we will turn our cities ... into a graveyard for the new (Isis)-minded people who are directed by Turkey,” it said.
Earlier in the day, Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters clashed around two prisons housing members of Islamic State in Syria’s northeast. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said several of its fighters have been killed and over a dozen others wounded.
The clashes came as SDF chief commander Mazloum Abdi was said to be in Damascus to discuss a ceasefire deal reached Sunday that ended days of deadly fighting during which government forces captured wide areas of northeast Syria from the SDF. Abdi issued no statement about the meeting.