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Syrian government troops moved into the northeastern city of Shaddadi on Monday after the YPG terror group released Daesh militants from a prison under its control, prompting a large-scale security operation to recapture the escapees.
The Syrian army announced that YPG/SDF terrorists had released Daesh members from the Shaddadi prison in Hasakah province, leading government forces to deploy to the area. In a written statement, the military said it had attempted to assume control of the prison through intermediaries, but the YPG rejected the request.
"Following the YPG's release of Daesh members from Shaddadi prison, our forces began deploying to Shaddadi city in the Hasakah countryside," the army statement said.
The prison break occurred just one day after the YPG agreed to a ceasefire and "full integration" deal with President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government in Damascus. Under that agreement, Daesh camps under YPG control were to be transferred to Syrian government authority.
The Syrian military said search and sweep operations were continuing in central Shaddadi and surrounding areas to ensure security. The army reported that a security perimeter had been established around the prison, with ongoing operations to capture the released Daesh members.
The army did not specify how many militants had escaped from the facility. However, the SDF, the umbrella organization led by the YPG terror group, had previously stated the Shaddadi prison held thousands of militants.
The timing of the incident drew particular attention from Syrian authorities, occurring immediately after the ceasefire and integration agreement signed Sunday by al-Sharaa and SDF ringleader Mazloum Abdi. The Syrian government held the YPG responsible for the developments.
The withdrawals represent the most significant change to Syria's territorial control since fighters led by al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024. After months of stalled negotiations over Damascus's demands that SDF fully merge with the government, days of fighting preceded Sunday's agreement requiring the SDF/YPG to abandon Raqqa and Deir al-Zor provinces.
The SDF, spearheaded by the YPG terror group, had controlled approximately a quarter of Syria throughout the 2011-2024 civil war while fighting Daesh alongside U.S. troops. The two Arab-majority provinces they relinquished contain Syria's main oil fields.
Reuters journalists confirmed government forces had deployed in Raqqa city, which the SDF captured from Daesh in 2017, and at oil and gas facilities in Deir al-Zor. The SDF had also withdrawn from districts of Aleppo they controlled for years following earlier clashes this month.
The 14-point deal signed by al-Sharaa and SDF ringleader Mazloum Abdi stipulates that prisons, border crossings, and oil and gas fields will transfer to government control. All SDF will merge into the defense and interior ministries as "individuals" rather than as units, which the SDF had sought.
The agreement also commits the SDF to expel all non-Syrian figures affiliated with the PKK, a terror organization that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Türkiye and the broader region. The timing for transferring the prisons and camps was not announced.
Türkiye welcomed the agreement as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged swift implementation of the accord. Senior figures from Erdogan's ruling AK Party said the PKK terror group's expulsion provision removed a major obstacle to Türkiye's peace process with PKK militants.
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