The Syrian opposition on Tuesday carried out a prisoner exchange with the Assad regime in the Qalaat al-Madiq area in the western Hama countryside.
The media activist Mohamed Nasser told Alsouria Net that “the prisoner exchange was concluded between the ‘Public Institution for Prisoner Affairs' (PIPA) representing the opposition and the Red Crescent as a mediator for the regime.”
Nasser said that the prisoner exchange included the release of 55 prisoners held by regime forces in exchange for 54 who were held by rebel groups. He added that, “All the prisoners held by both sides were women as well some children released from the regime prisons.”
The source said that “the female prisoners held by the opposition were held for about two years during the ‘Aisha is the Mother of Muslims’ battle with regime forces in the Lattakia countryside.”
Alsouria Net obtained a copy of the names of released female prisoners who had been held by the regime. They came from a variety of Syrian regions, most prominently Daraya, Jisr al-Shughour, Idleb, the Hama countryside and other areas of the Damascus countryside.
For its part, PIPA on its Facebook page thanked the Syrian rebel groups which were influential in completing the operation, including the Tahrir al-Sham group in addition to some groups that participated in the joint operations room, including Ahrar al-Sham.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
