Syrian government deal with Kurdish fighters appears to unravel as IS prisoners escape

RAQQA, Syria (AP) — A day after a sweeping deal was announced between the Syrian government and the country's main Kurdish-led force, the agreement appeared to be falling apart Monday.

After new outbreaks of clashes Monday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement calling for “all of our youth” to “join the ranks of the resistance.”

“Just as our comrades in 2014 forged a historic resistance in Kobani and turned it into a graveyard for (the Islamic State group) ... today we affirm with the same resolve that we will turn our cities ... into a graveyard for the new (IS)-minded people who are directed by Turkey,” it said.

Earlier in the day, Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters clashed around two prisons housing members of the Islamic State group in Syria's northeast. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said several of its fighters have been killed and over a dozen others wounded.

The clashes came as SDF chief commander Mazloum Abdi was said to be in Damascus to discuss a ceasefire deal reached Sunday that ended days of deadly fighting during which government forces captured wide areas of northeast Syria from the SDF. Abdi issued no statement about the meeting.

The SDF, the main U.S.-backed force that fought IS in Syria, controls more than a dozen prisons in the northeast where some 9,000 IS members have been held for years without trial. Many of the detained extremists are believed to have carried out atrocities in Syria and Iraq after IS declared a caliphate in June 2014 over large parts of Syria and Iraq.

The army said in a statement that some of the Shaddadi Prison detainees in the town of Shaddadeh were able to flee amid the chaos and a curfew has been imposed because of the breakout, calling for information on those who escaped as search operations continue.

The army and the SDF traded accusations over the release of the detainees, with the group confirming in a statement it lost control over the prison, which is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border with Iraq.

The Kurdish-led force also said nine of its members have been killed and 20 others wounded in fighting around another prison, al-Aqtan, northeast of the northern city of Raqqa.

An Associated Press reporter saw a U.S. convoy entering the prison area, apparently to mediate between the two sides. Washington has good relations with both.

The office of Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa reported later Monday that al-Sharaa spoke by telephone with U.S. President Donald Trump and “affirmed the importance of preserving the unity and independence of Syrian territory” and “the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people.” The statement said they also agreed to continue cooperating in the fight against IS.

The Syrian government had warned the SDF earlier not to use “cases of terrorism for political blackmail,” saying it is ready to implement international law regarding the detainees.

“The government warns the SDF’s command not to facilitate the fleeing of Daesh detainees or opening prisons as a revenge measure or for political pressure,” read a government statement carried on state media. The government used the term Daesh, an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, but the group’s sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in both countries.

Also on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the SDF not to delay or obstruct compliance with the agreement with Damascus.

“Procrastination, resistance, and playing for time by hiding behind various excuses will benefit no one,” Erdogan said. “The era of terrorism in our region has come to an end. The requirements of the ceasefire and full integration agreement must be fulfilled without delay, and no one should miscalculate again.”

While the SDF has been the main partner of the U.S. in Syria in the fight against IS, Ankara considers it to be a terrorist group because of its ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that has mounted a long-running insurgency in Turkey.

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Associated Press journalist Hogir Al Abdo in Qamishli, Syria, contributed to this report.

Soldiers of the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) deploy with armoured military vehicles to secure roads leading to Gweiran Prison which houses men accused of being an Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

People cross the damaged Al-Rashid Bridge on foot, destroyed by retreating Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) troops, a day after Syrian government troops took control of the area on the outskirts of Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Bodies of fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces lie on the ground near Al-Aqtan prison on the outskirts of Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, after fighting with Syrian government forces. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A Syrian government fighter stands guard outside Al-Aqtan prison on the outskirts of Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, as negotiations are underway with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces over a withdrawal from the prison. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Senegal has an unlikely new hero, and he did not even play in the chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final won by his country.

In a bizarre turn of events, Senegal’s second-choice goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf spent long spells of Sunday's match protecting the towels used by starting keeper Edouard Mendy from repeated attempts by ball boys to snatch them.

Diouf's efforts have been praised by fans as being almost as crucial as the extra-time winning goal scored by Pape Gueye, which secured Senegal’s second Africa Cup of Nations title.

Goalkeepers often keep towels close to them to wipe themselves and their gloves, especially in wet conditions such as those during Sunday’s final in Rabat.

Diouf had a crucial role on the sidelines, fighting off the assaults. At one point, he was chased by ball boys along the touchline. Some videos also show him lying flat on the pitch, shielding one of the towels, while a young man tries to wrestle with him.

In other footage filmed from the stands, Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi can be seen throwing one of Mendy's towels over advertising boards. At another moment Morocco midfielder Ismaël Saibari tried to prevent Diouf from handing a towel to Mendy.

Praising the tireless work of the second-choice goalkeeper, one social media user wrote on X: “Yehvann Diouf’s work, guys. You’ve earned the respect of an entire country. SOLDIER.”

Diouf made light of the situation, later posting a picture of him biting on his medal and holding a towel, with the caption: “Here it is (the medal and the towel).”

Speaking to reporters after the match, Diouf said he did not understand why the opposing side got so obsessed with the towels.

“Maybe people read something into those towels, but in any case they were only used to dry the gloves and the face when it’s raining,” he said. “I was just as surprised as you were, but like the team as a whole, we stuck together, and Edouard was able to get the towels he needed.”

AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations

A ball boy throws a towel used by Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A ball boy attempts to grab a towel from Senegal's second-choice goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf as he holds it for Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A ball boy attempts to grab a towel from Senegal's second-choice goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf as he holds it for Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Morocco's Ismael Saibari tries to prevent Senegal's second-choice goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf from handing a towel to Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy dries his face while Senegal's second-choice goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf waits to collect it from him, during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Osoque Mendy, right, approaches Morocco's Brahim Abdelkader Díaz before he took a penalty during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Youssef Loulidi)

Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Osoque Mendy saves a panelty from Morocco's Brahim Abdelkader Díaz during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Youssef Loulidi)

Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Osoque Mendy saves from Morocco's Ismael Saibari during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Youssef Loulidi)

Senegal's head coach Pape Thiaw and Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Osoque Mendy, center, celebrate after winning the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Youssef Loulidi)

Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Osoque Mendy clears the ball in front of Morocco's Abdessamad Ezzalzouli during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)