1 killed, others injured in intra-SNA clashes in Syria’s Sere Kaniye
SERE KANIYE, Syria (North Press) – A man was killed and others, including a woman, were injured on Sunday in armed clashes between militants of a factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in east of the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), northeastern Syria.
A military source told North Press that clashes erupted among militants of the Hamza Division, a faction of the SNA, near the Turkish border abutting the village of Alouk due to disputes over the distribution of income obtained from smuggling Syrians into Turkey.
On Aug. 17, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned the Hamza Division and its leader, along with another SNA faction called the Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (al-Amshat), over “serious human rights abuses” in northern Syria.
Such clashes are common in SNA-held areas, often arising from disagreements over territorial control or financial matters.
The source added that militants in the group of Abu Yassin al-Shami, part of Hamza Division, opened fire on people near the Turkish border, resulting in the killing of a young man and the injury of others, including a woman in her forties.
The source pointed out that the SNA’s Military Police attempted to settle the dispute between the Hamza members, but the division’s top leader, Saif Abu Bakr, prevented them, considering it an internal matter in which no other faction has the right to interfere.
The city of Sere Kaniye and its surrounding areas have been under the occupation of Turkish forces and SNA factions since Oct. 2019 following a military operation dubbed ‘Peace Spring’.