Syrian cities on Jan. 25 saw a cautious calm after the government and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) extended truce by 15 days, with Damascus saying it was to support the U.S. transfer of ISIL detainees from Syria to Iraq.
The 15-day extension took effect at 11 p.m. (20:00 GMT) on Jan. 24.
"The extension of the ceasefire comes in support of the American operation to transfer ISIL detainees from SDF prisons to Iraq," the Defense Ministry said.
Damascus and the SDF had initially agreed to a four-day ceasefire on Jan. 20 after the SDF relinquished swathes of territory to government troops, who also sent reinforcements to a stronghold in the northeast.
With the SDF losing large areas to government forces, Damascus continued to extend its control over the newly controlled territories.
On Jan. 24, Syria's government freed at least 126 minors being held in a northern prison after taking over the facility from the SDF forces as part of the agreement.
The state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company also announced that it has begun extracting oil from fields retaken by the SDF.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted the company’s director of institutional communications, Safwan Sheikh Ahmad, as saying technical teams have started pumping raw gas from the Jibsa fields in Hasakah in the northeast.
He noted that the current work aims to restore the fields, adding that the projected production could reach about 100,000 barrels per day within four months, supporting the energy sector and the national economy.
The truce extension came after Washington said it would transfer 7,000 ISIL detainees to prisons in Iraq.
Europeans were among the 150 senior ISIL detainees who were the first to be transferred on Jan. 21, and two Iraqi officials told AFP that a second batch of "up to 1,000 IS detainees" were being sent on Jan. 24.
The transfer is expected to take several days.
The truce between Damascus and the SDF is part of a new understanding over areas in Hasakeh province and a broader deal to integrate the SDF’s administration into the state.
On Jan. 18, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced a deal with SDF chief Mazloum Abdi that included a ceasefire and the integration of the SDF’s administration into the state.
The SDF fighters were transferred from the Al-Aqtan Prison on Jan. 23 to Ain al-Arab in Aleppo province.
The same day, SANA quoted the army as saying the Al-Aqtan transfer was "the first step in implementing the Jan.18 agreement under which the interior ministry will take over administration of the prison.”
