Pro-Turkey opposition faction infighting leaves causalties in northeast Syria
TEL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday evening, one member was killed and another one was wounded in heavy clashes between two groups of a Turkish-backed armed opposition faction in the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), northeast Syria.
“Heavy clashes with machine guns erupted between members of two groups in the Hamza faction in the vicinity of Tel Arqam village in the countryside of the city of Sere Kaniye due to disputes over smuggling people from Syria to Turkey,” a local source told North Press.
“The clashes resulted in the killing of a member called Iyad al-Hallaq from Homs, and another one was seriously injured,” the source added.
The killing incident was followed by chaos and storming of military headquarters, while the tension is still prevailed in the area, according to the source.
Since the invasion of Turkey and the affiliated opposition faction in 2018, the Sere Kaniye area, has witnessed security chaos and violent disputes between the factions over the theft and smuggling routes, which often result in deaths and injuries among the members of these factions.
Days ago, three cases of infighting took place between the opposition factions in the city of Sere Kaniye, the first of which was between two groups of the Mu’tasim Division inside the city of Sere Kaniye over a house owned by a displaced person from the city.
Another infighting with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades erupted between the two factions of Sultan Malik-Shah Brigade and the Hamzah Division in the town of Tel Halaf, west of the city of Sere Kaniye, due to a dispute over thefts and passengers crossing smuggling routes into Turkey,” a local source told North Press.
The areas of northeast Syria held by Turkey and the opposition factions have been witnessing a security chaos due to the constant infighting among these factions over the stolen goods and the extension of control, which often results in deaths and injuries.