Syrian regime, rebels take part in new prisoner swap in Aleppo

The Syrian regime and opposition carried out a prisoner swap on Wednesday in the northern region of Aleppo, in the latest exchange of captives in the war-torn nation.

Local sources told The New Arab’s Arabic language sister site that the exchange process took place on Wednesday afternoon at the Abu Al-Zendin crossing, in the presence of the Syrian Red Crescent and a number of members of the opposition Syrian National Army, as well as activists and media figures, during which four detainees in regime custody were given to the SNA.

The four are all related to a former officer who defected from the Syrian army intelligence.

In the exchange, the SNA handed back to the regime four soldiers, as well as the remains of one.

There have been previous prisoner swaps between the two sides during Syria’s decade-old conflict. In August last year, the regime released six women and a child from detention, in a prisoner swap with former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

While Russia and Iran have backed Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime, Turkey and other countries have supported rebel groups such as the SNA, which is a coalition of armed opposition groups.

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