Syrian regime and rebels swap prisoners near Aleppo

Syrian rebels and government forces exchanged prisoners late on Tuesday in one of the largest swaps between both sides recently.

MENA

2 min read

��

18 May, 2016

The exchange did not point to any truce between the two sides [Getty]

Syrian rebels and government forces exchanged prisoners and dead fighters late Tuesday near the divided city of Aleppo, the scene of some of the country's fiercest fighting in recent months.

Rebels released 25 prisoners and handed over 70 bodies to government forces in exchange for 12 prisoners and 11 bodies, in a deal arranged by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, activists said.

The exchange took place near the Rashideen suburb, four kilometres [2.5 miles] from away from Khan Touman village, southwestern Aleppo.

"The Syrian Red Crescent facilitated the prisoner swap between factions of the Syrian opposition and the regime," activist Mohammed al-Halabi told ��.

"Negotiations for this exchange had started over a year ago and faced many difficulties, including disputes over the number of prisoners, before it finalised," Halabi said.

Among the prisoners freed by the rebels are a colonel for the Syrian Army's 14th Division, Special Forces, and a fighter with the Lebanese Hizballah movement, according to Mamoun Khateeb, who heads the activist media agency Shahba Press.

There was no information about who the government released in exchange.

The exchange was one of the largest swaps between the two sides in recent memory but it did not point to any truce between them, Khateeb said.

A coalition of hard-line rebel factions known as Jaish al-Fatah launched a wide offensive along Aleppo's western outskirts earlier this month, capturing the village of Khan Touman and killing dozens of pro-government fighters, including 13 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

Agencies contributed to this report