Syria signals readiness for prisoner swap deals with militants
The Syrian government has expressed its readiness for prisoner swaps with militant groups ahead of a new round of peace talks in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.
Syria’s state media said the government was “always ready” to exchange prisoners in its jails for people kidnapped by terrorist groups, “particularly in the framework of efforts being made for the coming meeting in Astana.”
The militant groups have not commented on the report so far.
Last week, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Damascus and militants had exchanged 112 people under a swap deal.
More than 50 Syrian women and children returned home in Latakia Province after the Syrian government secured their release from militant captivity under the deal.
The news comes as the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in a Saturday statement that delegations from the Syrian government and opposition as well as UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura have been invited to the next round of Astana talks on February 15-16.
On January 23-24, Astana hosted Syrian talks organized by Iran, Russia and Turkey, with the presence of representatives from the Syrian government and opposition groups.
Read more
- Syria opposition forms new delegation, scraps Saudi-backed groups
- 54 Syrian women, freed from militants return home in Latakia
Infighting erupts between rival militants
In another development, fierce infighting erupted between militants seen as close to the Daesh terrorist group and a rival Takfiri outfit in northwestern Syria on Monday, the Observatory said.
The pro-opposition monitoring group said members of the Jund al-Aqsa and Tahrir al-Sham militant groups clashed around Kafr Zeita in the provinces of Hama and Idlib.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Backed by Russian air cover, the Syrian military is engaged in an operation to rid the country of terrorist groups.
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