RAQQA, Syria (AP) — Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by U.S. forces to transfer accused Islamic State militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
There
was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
RAQQA, Syria (AP) — A four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish fighters ended Saturday evening with no clear sign of whether it will be renewed as the main Kurdish-led force in the country called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast. Over the past three weeks, they have witnessed intense clashes in which the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Syria’s state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the truce has ended and the government “is studying its options.”
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Islamic State group. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the U.S. military said that some 7,000 IS detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq. On Wednesday, the U.S. military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
