Syrian

Syria’s government has been relocating families after announcing the closure of the notorious al-Hol camp for people with suspected links to ISIL fighters. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett has been seeing families arrive at a new camp, where the government says conditions will be better.

The move, in coordination with the US, is the latest implementation of the ceasefire agreement with Kurdish-led forces.

The Syrian army has taken over the al-Shaddadi military base in the northeast of the country following the withdrawal of United States troops, as part of a ceasefire arrangement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Syria’s Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday that “forces of the Syrian Arab Army have taken over the al-Shaddadi military base in the Hasakah countryside following coordination with the American side”.

The US had been operating in al-Shadaddi since 2016, after Kurdish-led forces seized it from ISIL (ISIS). On Thursday, the Syrian army also took control of the US base of al-Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the implementation of the ceasefire agreement was “headed in a positive direction”.

“There’s been some days that have been very concerning, but we like the trajectory,” he said. “We have to keep it on that trajectory. We’ve got good agreements in place. The key now is implementation, and we’ll be very involved in that regard.”

He noted that similar agreements needed to be reached with the Druze, Bedouin and Alawite communities in the country.

“We think that outcome, as difficult as it’s been, is far better than the Syria that would have been broken up into eight pieces, with all kinds of fighting going on, all kinds of mass migration, so we feel very positive about that.”

Reduced US presence

Reporting from Aleppo, Al Jazeera correspondent Heidi Pett said residents near al-Shaddadi said in recent days that they were hearing “explosions and seeing fires at the base as Americans destroy remaining material because they’ve been preparing to leave there for a number of weeks”.

“This is part of a broader change in US strategy in the region moving towards partnering directly with the Syrian government,” she said.

The US has been reducing its military footprint in Syria for months, going from 1,500 personnel in July to about 900 currently.

It has been consolidating its ground presence to Tower 22 in Jordan, although it continues to carry out air strikes on ISIL targets in Syria, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) announcing it had conducted 10 air strikes on 30 targets during the February 3-12 period, and killed or captured more than 50 people in two months.

CENTCOM’s commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement that US forces would “remain poised to respond to any [ISIS] threats that arise”.

Syria’s defence ministry says its forces have taken control of the strategic base amid coordination with the US.

Syrian ⁠forces ⁠have taken control of the strategic al-Tanf military base near the border with Iraq and Jordan, the Syrian defence ministry has said, amid the withdrawal of a longstanding United States troop presence at the base.

The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Syrian Arab Army units had taken control of al-Tanf, securing the base and its surroundings, “through coordination between the Syrian and American sides”.

Army units had “begun deploying along the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian” border nearby, the ministry said, while border guards would be deployed in the coming days.

The base was established during Syria’s civil war in 2014 as a ‌key hub for operations by the global coalition against ISIL (ISIS), which at the time controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq until the group was vanquished in 2017.

The US withdrawal from the base comes months after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former leader of the armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who the US once deemed a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”, joined the anti-ISIL coalition in November.

The US military has not officially commented on the pullout, but Trump has expressed an interest in withdrawing US troops from Syria since his first term.

Syrian government expands control

The pullout also follows ⁠a US-brokered deal to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces – a key US partner in the fight against ISIL – into Syrian government institutions, an agreement the US hailed as a major step towards national unity and ⁠reconciliation in Syria.

Last month, as al-Sharaa’s government pushed to expand its control over the country, Syrian government forces captured large areas of previously Kurdish-held territory in northeast Syria, amid deadly clashes with the SDF.

A ceasefire was later struck between the sides.

Amid the advance of Syrian forces, the US military has been transferring thousands of ISIL prisoners from jails previously run by the SDF in northeastern Syria, as the facilities were transferred to Syrian government control.

US drawdown

While the size of the US deployment in Syria has fluctuated over the years, with precise figures often unclear due to the classified nature of many operations, a Pentagon announcement in July 2025 said there were about 1,500 American soldiers in Syria.

The size of the deployment currently stands at 900, The Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground reported that US military personnel appeared to be drawing down their presence from watchtowers surrounding a military installation in the al-Shaddadi area in northeastern Hasakah province.

Soldiers were also seen lowering the US flag from one tower, while equipment used to manage aircraft takeoffs and landings at the base’s airstrip was no longer visible.

The US carried out a round of “large-scale” attacks against ISIL in Syria in January following an ambush that killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the city of Palmyra in December.

Beirut, Lebanon – The Lebanese and Syrian governments have reached a deal to repatriate about 300 Syrian inmates in Lebanese prisons back to their home country in a move that could pave the way for better relations between the two neighbours.

The issue of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon has been a priority for Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Relations between the two countries have long been marked by what many Lebanese describe as nearly 30 years of occupation and a tutelage rule by Syria over Lebanon, which ended when Syria withdrew its troops in 2005.

About 2,400 Syrian prisoners are currently in Lebanese prisons. Some are held on “terrorism” charges while others are held for links to attacks against the Lebanese army. But most have never been tried despite having spent years in jail, largely due to a myriad of issues, including political gridlock, judicial strikes and general political indifference.

And while the deal reached on Friday may signal the beginning of a new relationship between Syria and Lebanon – one built on mutual respect rather than Syria’s direct or indirect control of the smaller state on its western border – it did not come about without any public controversy.

In Syrian eyes, many of the prisoners are being held for political rather than judicial reasons. The government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa believes they are in prison mostly due to the influence of the former al-Assad regime and its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

But for many Lebanese, anyone accused of attacks against the Lebanese armed forces should not be released.

“Lebanon has long insisted that anyone Syrian or otherwise accused of committing serious crimes against the Lebanese army should not be extradited,” David Wood, the senior Lebanon analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. “That has been one key obstacle to resolving this prisoner agreement up until now.”

Political prisoners?

Lebanese-Syrian relations have long been complex. Under Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and later his son Bashar, Syrian forces controlled Lebanon from 1976 to 2005.

Even after Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon, Syria maintained influence over Lebanon via its allies there, including the political and military group Hezbollah.

When the 2011 Syrian uprising began and was subsequently repressed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syria’s border with Lebanon soon became a hotspot for the transportation of people – both fighters and refugees – weapons and drugs.

In Lebanon, the Syrian war had a strong impact. It spilled over into clashes in the northern city of Tripoli; the Battle of Abra, which involved firebrand anti-Assad sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and Lebanese-Palestinian pop star Fadel Shaker; battles with Hezbollah and the Lebanese army on one side and ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda-aligned groups on the other; and attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

In the intervening years, hundreds of Syrians were arrested by Lebanese authorities and held in Lebanon’s overcrowded prisons.

When the al-Assad regime fell, the new Syrian government quickly looked to reframe the relationship with Lebanon, expressing an interest in building ties based on mutual respect and interests.

Among Damascus’s priorities were delineating their shared border and economic and security cooperation. But it also prioritised the repatriation of Syrians in Lebanese prisons.

“The allegation from Damascus is that in many cases the reason for [imprisonment] is political and specifically due to perceived ties between the inmates and groups that were opposed to the former regime of Bashar al-Assad,” Wood said. In its view, “it was actually Assad’s Lebanese allies who conspired to make sure that these people were imprisoned in Lebanon.”

By that logic, the fall of al-Assad and the weakening of Hezbollah after Israel’s 2024 war on Lebanon meant that these prisoners should be released.

Some Lebanese disagree and see the issue as more of a grey area. Even if the Syrian prisoners in question had fought Hezbollah, it had been at a time when the Shia group had been coordinating with the Lebanese army – and, for many Lebanese, fighting the army is a red line.

An important step

On Friday, the agreement was signed with a number of Lebanese ministers present, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and the two countries’ justice ministers.

“This is a very important first step on the road of a comprehensive treatment regarding Syrian prisoners in Lebanese prisons,” Mitri said to reporters on Friday.

Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said: “This step will boost existing confidence, and we hope that relations will progress more.”

The agreement reportedly stipulates that over the next three months, about 300 prisoners will be repatriated to Syria and those serving time for serious crimes, such as rape or murder for example, must have served 10 or more years of their sentences in Lebanese prisons to be eligible for repatriation.

Lebanese prisoners, such as al-Assir, are not included in the deal.

But other issues remain. Among them are Lebanon’s backlogged judicial system and issues related to Lebanese inmates in Syrian prisons.

Only about 750 Syrian prisoners out of the 2,400 have been convicted. That means roughly 65 percent of prisoners are not eligible for repatriation yet.

Fadel Abdulghany of the Syrian Network for Human Rights described this as a “two-track” problem. On his personal website, Abdulghany noted that the transfer of prisoners convicted with final sentences can be carried out with a “swift step”.

However, for those who have yet to be convicted, the issue is not as straightforward. A mechanism for pretrial detention has not yet been agreed by the respective authorities.

“This is not merely a Syrian issue but one that touches the very structure of the Lebanese criminal justice system,” Abdulghany wrote. “Therefore, transferring convicts will not resolve the problem, because the root cause is the slow pace of procedures in Lebanon and the accumulation of detainees held without trial, along with the ensuing issues concerning the legality and continuation of their detention.”

He warned that such detainees could be used as political bargaining chips by Hezbollah. Some members or supporters of the group blame these prisoners for car bombings or other such attacks on their villages. While many of those attacks were on Shia Muslim areas where Hezbollah support is predominant, Christian villages, such as al-Qaa and Ras Baalbeck in the Bekaa Valley, were also subject to attacks.

‘There are no names’

Marcel Baloukji, a former brigadier general who oversaw the Lebanese army’s border committee with Syria, told Al Jazeera that the 300 or so prisoners who are to be transferred do not include many of the more hardened prisoners associated with ISIL or al-Qaeda whom Lebanese authorities have apprehended over the years.

But Baloukji also pointed out that the issue of Lebanese prisoners in Syrian jails is still important for the Lebanese side. Under the al-Assad regime, more than 100,000 people were forcibly disappeared, including hundreds or potentially thousands of Lebanese, going as far back as the Lebanese Civil War.

Mass graves have been found around Syria since the fall of the regime. However, much work needs to be done to identify all the bodies. Until now, the vast majority have still not been identified – neither Syrian nor Lebanese.

“There’s still a problem because there has to be an exchange between Lebanon and Syria,” Baloukji said. “There’s no one there. Most of them are not identified. There are no names.”

Israel is accused of spraying chemicals on farmland inside Syria and Lebanon to destroy crops and plants. Al Jazeera’s Ayman Oghanna reports from Quneitra in southern Syria, where farmers say the damage is threatening their livelihoods.

The Syrian army has deployed to the northeastern city of Hasakah, previously controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), implementing the first phase of a United States-backed ceasefire agreement.

A large convoy of military trucks entered Hasakah on Monday, hours after the SDF imposed a curfew. Syrian forces arrived as part of the newly brokered agreement between Damascus and the SDF announced last Friday.

The agreement aims to solidify the ceasefire that halted weeks of conflict during which the SDF lost substantial territory in northeastern Syria.

It establishes a framework for incorporating SDF fighters into Syria’s national army and police forces, while integrating civilian institutions controlled by the group into the central government structure.

Under the terms of the agreement, government forces will avoid entering Kurdish-majority areas. However, small Interior Ministry security units will take control of state institutions in Hasakah and Qamishli, including civil registries, passport offices and the airport.

Kurdish local police will continue security operations in both cities before eventually merging with the Interior Ministry.

The government forces’ entry into Hasakah occurred without incident and as scheduled.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – whose government has long viewed the SDF as an extension of the Kurdish-led armed rebellion in Turkiye – issued a stern warning to Kurdish forces.

“With the latest agreements, a new page has now been opened before the Syrian people,” Erdogan said in a televised address. “Whoever attempts to sabotage this, I say clearly and openly, will be crushed under it.”

Friday’s agreement includes provisions for establishing a military division incorporating three SDF brigades, plus an additional brigade for forces in the group-held town of Ain al-Arab, also known by its Kurdish name Kobane, which will operate under the state-controlled Aleppo governorate.

The arrangement also provides for the integration of governing bodies in SDF-held territories with state institutions.

According to Syria’s state news agency SANA, Interior Ministry forces began deploying in rural areas near Kobane on Monday.

Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad 14 months ago, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to unify the fractured nation under central authority have been hampered by deadly clashes with the SDF and other groups.

Syrian forces move into the northeastern city, which was previously under the control of the Kurdish-led SDF.

The Syrian army has moved into the northeastern city of Hasakah, which was formerly under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a first step towards implementing a US-backed ceasefire deal.

A large convoy of trucks was seen entering the city on Monday hours after the SDF declared a curfew there.

Syrian government forces were also expected to enter the cities of Kobane and Qamishli.

The SDF reached a comprehensive agreement with the government on Friday to integrate with the Syrian army, after Kurdish-led forces ceded territory to advancing government troops in recent weeks after months of tensions and sporadic clashes.

Government forces are expected to be stationed in Syrian state buildings in Hasakah’s so-called “security zone”, a Syrian official and a Kurdish security source told the Reuters news agency ahead of the deployment.

“What’s happening here is very significant,” Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reported just outside of Hasakah, adding that a convoy of 150 personnel from the Syrian military had entered the city.

“Where I’m standing right now, there used to be a checkpoint run by the Kurdish-led SDF, and it is now being manned by soldiers from the Syrian army. This shows just how significant this territory is: an area that has been under the control of the SDF throughout the Syrian civil war,” she said.

The United States has hailed the agreement as a historic milestone towards unity and reconciliation after 14 years of war.

SDF integration

The SDF was ⁠once Washington’s main Syrian ally, playing a vital part in the fight against ISIL (ISIS).

But its status weakened as US President Donald Trump built ties with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the fall of former leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The deal announced on Friday includes the formation of a military division that will include three SDF brigades, in addition to a brigade for forces in the SDF-held town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, which will be affiliated with the state-controlled governorate of Aleppo.

The deal also provides for governing bodies in SDF-held areas to be merged with state institutions.

The ​Syrian state news agency SANA reported that Interior Ministry forces had begun deploying in rural areas near Kobane on ‌Monday.

Since rebels toppled al-Assad 14 months ago, al-Sharaa’s efforts to bring the fractured nation under central rule have been complicated by deadly violence last year involving the Alawite and Druze communities.