Clashes between tribe, Turkish-backed faction leave 4 dead in north Syria
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – At least four people were killed and several others injured on Tuesday during violent clashes between tribal gunmen and a faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), in the northern countryside of Raqqa, northern Syria.
Fighting erupted between the Turkish-backed “Saqour al-Sunna” faction and members of the al-Nu’aym tribe in the town of Suluk, following the killing of a local man inside his home by a militant affiliated with the faction.
According to a local source, a member of the faction had forcibly taken over a house in the town and fatally shot his neighbor, who was attempting to install an air conditioner on his rooftop.
The source added that the perpetrator did not stop at the killing, but later called in fellow faction members, who attacked the town’s residents, creating a state of panic.
The faction reportedly targeted a sit-in tent erected by locals demanding the expulsion of the killer, assaulted the family of the deceased, and set fire to three homes.
Another local source told North Press that the faction is currently holding the victims’ bodies at Tel Abyad Hospital and refusing to hand them over to their families, suggesting the casualty toll may be higher than initially reported.
He also noted that Turkish forces have blocked tribal reinforcements from entering Suluk to support their relatives, while refraining from intervening to stop the faction’s attacks.
The source added that the faction continues to assault civilian homes, amid ongoing random and heavy gunfire throughout the town.