National Government
Appears in 2 stories
Assuming control of northeast Syria
The SDF has guarded roughly 9,000 ISIS fighters and 38,000 of their family members since the caliphate collapsed in 2019. On January 20, 2026, when Syrian government forces took control of Al-Shaddadi prison, a gap in the handover let between 120 and 200 detainees escape; most were quickly recaptured. The incident exposed how fragile the world's largest ISIS detention system is, prompting the U.S. to transfer detainees to Iraq on January 21, starting with 150 in a mission that could relocate up to 7,000.
Updated May 22
Secured territorial control of entire country through military offensive and negotiated settlement
Syria's 13-month standoff over Kurdish autonomy ended on January 18, 2026, when Damascus and the SDF signed a 14-point agreement dissolving the Kurdish autonomous administration. The agreement came after Syrian forces captured the al-Omar oilfield, Tabqa dam, and Raqqa city in a lightning offensive, forcing the SDF to withdraw east of the Euphrates and hand over all three northeastern provinces.
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