Lebanon today handed over to Damascus 128 Syrian detainees, a security source told Agence France-Presse, following an initial transfer that took place under agreement between the two countries, which was signed in February.

Approximately 2,000 Syrians, nearly one-third of the population of prisons in Lebanon, are being held in the country’s overcrowded prisons.

Among them, hundreds are accused of terrorism or attacks against Lebanese security forces.

Others are imprisoned because they were members of armed or jihadist groups that fought against Bashar al-Assad’s government during the civil war (2011–2024) and are awaiting trial.

A security source who requested anonymity stated that Beirut “handed over to Damascus a second group of 128 Syrian prisoners held in Lebanon” today.

A first transfer of 132 prisoners took place in March, pursuant to an agreement signed between Lebanon and Syria in February, which concerns approximately 300 prisoners serving sentences of 10 years or more in Lebanese prisons.

Under the agreement, the prisoners will serve the remainder of their sentences in Syria.

Those convicted of rape and murder are excluded from the agreement, a Syrian official had stated.

At least 260 of the 356 convicted prisoners held in Roumieh, a prison on the outskirts of Beirut, were transferred to the prison in the city of Andra, near Damascus, the same source clarified.

The issue of the prisoners had been a point of friction between Beirut and Damascus following the overthrow of the Assad family in December 2024. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed this issue once again during his meeting in Damascus in May with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sara.

The two countries, which have had strained relations in the past, have repeatedly stated their determination to turn a new page following the rise to power of the Islamist coalition.