Amid Escalating Attacks, Kurdish-Led SDF Withdraws to Kurdish-Majority Zones, Vows to Defend "Red Line"

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, said his forces have withdrawn to Kurdish-majority areas and stressed that protecting those areas constitutes a “red line” that the SDF will not hesitate to defend, amid what he described as escalating and dangerous attacks across northeast Syria.

In a statement to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency, Abdi said the SDF salutes “the resistance of civilians and fighters in all areas subjected to brutal attacks and systematic killing against Kurds,” as he outlined a sharp deterioration in security conditions affecting cities, camps, and detention facilities holding ISIS members and their families.

Abdi warned of a serious escalation targeting detention facilities, saying attacks have intensified against sites holding ISIS fighters and their families in Shaddadi and al-Hol camp. He stated that al-Hol camp has been subjected to violent attacks and attempts to storm and seize control of it by force since the previous evening.

According to Abdi, guards at al-Hol camp faced assaults involving military convoys, armored vehicles, and tanks, forcing them to withdraw under pressure. He added that the Syrian government continues to carry out intense attacks on the city of Hasakah, its countryside, and the city of Kobani.

Abdi said Damascus has not responded to any of the ceasefire initiatives launched over the past two weeks, accusing the Syrian government of rejecting efforts aimed at de-escalation. “We withdrew to areas with a Kurdish majority, and protecting them is a red line that we will not hesitate to defend,” he said.

He also called on the international coalition to assume its responsibilities in protecting facilities that detain ISIS elements, warning that continued instability poses serious risks. Abdi urged the Syrian government to halt its attacks and return to the negotiating table.

The statements come amid mounting concern over the security of ISIS detention facilities in northeast Syria. The United States has estimated that around two hundred ISIS detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison following attacks linked to the Syrian Arab Army, according to information reported by Reuters.

The escape occurred after the prison complex, which was under SDF control, was targeted, raising renewed alarm over the stability of detention sites holding ISIS fighters. Shaddadi prison is one of the two main facilities, alongside Gweiran prison, that together held nearly ten thousand ISIS militants. Shaddadi alone housed between three thousand and five thousand detainees.

Those held at the facility included Iraqi and Syrian ISIS members, as well as nearly two thousand foreign nationals from fifty-eight countries, highlighting the international dimension of the challenge surrounding ISIS detention.

The prison break unfolded amid a broader escalation across Western Kurdistan. Earlier, the SDF issued an official statement criticizing what it described as the silence of the international community in the face of Syrian Arab Army attacks, saying international indifference and failure to address the ISIS issue forced its forces to withdraw from al-Hol camp.

According to the SDF, Kurdish-led forces were compelled to redeploy and reposition around cities in northern Syria facing heightened threats, citing the absence of serious international engagement in managing the ISIS detainee crisis.

Warnings have also been voiced about the consequences of abandoning Kurdish forces that played a central role in defeating ISIS. Nadia Murad, the Yazidi survivor of ISIS captivity and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the US-led coalition relied on Kurdish forces in Rojava to defeat ISIS but that those who confronted “evil” are now being abandoned at a critical moment.

In a statement published on X, Murad said, “What the international community is doing in Syria — and across the broader region — is chaos, and innocent people will pay the price.”

The escape of ISIS fighters from Shaddadi prison, combined with the withdrawal of SDF forces from al-Hol camp, underscores the growing strain on Kurdish-led forces as they face escalating threats amid what they describe as continued international indifference.

As attacks intensify and detention sites come under pressure, the SDF leadership says protecting Kurdish-majority areas remains non-negotiable, warning that failure to act risks deepening instability and reviving threats long thought contained.