Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the ceasefire between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) may be extended, citing security concerns, including the transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq.
“We’re in the middle of the four-day ceasefire between the Syrian army and the SDF. The situation on the ground is fragile,” Mr Fidan said in a broadcast on NTV.
“There is now talk of extending the ceasefire. There is active diplomatic traffic, and we are involved. We don’t want to see any fighting. I hope this will lead to a positive peace process,” he added.
Hours later, a source in Syria's Foreign Ministry said there is “no truth” to reports that the ceasefire has been extended, the state news agency Sana reported.
SDF-controlled north-east Syria is home to several prisons holding thousands of ISIS fighters. Damascus took over some of the heavily guarded facilities as it pushed deeper into SDF-held territory. But the chaotic handover sparked international concern that militants could slip away in an already fragile security situation, after dozens of them escaped from a prison in Hasakah.
On Wednesday, the US military said it had begun moving ISIS detainees from north-east Syria to Iraq following the chaotic transfer, with US Central Command (Centcom) relocating them to “a secure location in Iraq”. It added that as many as 7,000 ISIS detainees could be moved under the programme.
“Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security,” Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said.
Iraq has said it should not shoulder the financial and security burden of the detainees alone, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told his European counterpart Kaja Kallas in a call on Saturday.
A statement carried by Iraq's state news agency said both sides stressed the importance of Europe playing an active role in supporting talks between the SDF and the Syrian government to reach clear agreements and ensure their implementation.
Damascus launched a swift offensive against SDF-held territory after months of stalled talks between the Kurdish-led group and the central government over integration into the central government. The SDF has controlled vast swathes of north-east Syria since the civil war, covering about 25 per cent of the country’s territory before the government advance, run as a semi-autonomous region under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
For months, Kurdish-led authorities resisted integration, an issue that has become one of the main challenges for President Ahmad Al Shara, who has vowed to reunify Syria after 13 years of conflict. Government forces were able to rapidly seize key areas, including the Arab-majority governorates of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, as tribes that once co-operated with the SDF joined the fight.
A four-day ceasefire was agreed on Tuesday between Mr Al Shara and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, as Syrian forces pushed deeper into Hasakah governorate, seizing positions up to eight kilometres from the city, which is home to a sizeable Kurdish population. The ceasefire bought additional time to formulate a solution for SDF integration.
Without an agreement, Syrian troops were expected to push further into the SDF’s shrinking territory, including Hasakah city and the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani.
Asked what would happen if no deal is reached, Mr Fidan said: “I hope there will be a serious will to solve this through dialogue.”
He accused the PKK of jeopardising negotiations with the SDF, calling Mr Abdi a “message carrier who follows instructions given to him”. “The SDF is not listening to any message coming from Ankara,” he added. “They should not allow themselves to be used as instruments for others’ agendas.”
Turkey, a close ally of Syria’s new leadership, considers both the SDF and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist groups. The SDF, which has long been backed by the US, has denied taking direct orders from the PKK. The PKK is a Kurdish militant group that has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since the 1980s. Last year, the PKK has declared itself dissolved and ceased its armed insurgency.
