Dead, wounded in Asayish-regime clashes in Syria’s Hasakah
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian government’s Iranian-backed militia known as National Defense and the Autonomous Administration’s Internal Security Forces (Asayish) engaged in clashes in northeast Syria’s Hasakah on Sunday, resulting in an unknown number of injuries and the death of one member of the Syrian regime forces.
Security sources from the Asayish in the city told North Press that a firefight took place between the two groups in the vicinity of the security complex (where regime government and security institutions are located) after pro-regime demonstrators attempted to march towards an Asayish checkpoint.
Muhammad al-Rahil, a first lieutenant in the “Special Mission Unit” rapid response team affiliated with the Syrian government, was reported to have been killed during the clashes in Hasakah.
Tenuous calm and heightened tensions now prevail in the city’s neighborhoods, amid the bringing of reinforcements and states of alert on both sides.
State of alert
On Sunday, the Asayish in the city of Qamishli tightened their security measures amid government calls for demonstrations against the Autonomous Administration in both Qamishli and Hasakah.
On Saturday, the regime governor of Hasakah and other government officials called for a demonstration against what they labeled a “siege policy” by the Autonomous Administration.
In the early morning hours, the Asayish issued warnings to anyone passing through areas controlled by Syrian government forces.
Local shopowners and residents said that the city center was quiet, and that some shops did not open due to the security situation.
Escalation
For nearly a month, the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli have witnessed security tensions between the Asayish and regime forces, including the Iran-backed National Defense.
Last week, clashes erupted between the two sides after National Defense targeted an Asayish checkpoint, who responded to the shooting in Qamishli’s Helko neighborhood.
Asayish said in a statement that Russian forces stationed at their bases in Qamishli Airport intervened to break up the fighting and pledged to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
The tension reached its peak at the end of last month, and tensions prevailed in the city as members of the two groups arrested each other.
An official Asayish source told North Press at the time that Syrian Air Force Intelligence was responsible for the tension in Qamishli, which is mostly held by the Autonomous Administration with only the security square and airport held by the regime.
Mutual accusations
Hasakah’s regime governor Ghassan Khalil accused the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Autonomous Administration (AANES) of besieging neighborhoods in the two cities in order to make “gains” in other areas.
Last Wednesday, pro-regime supporters went out in protest against the SDF and AANES in both Hasakah and Qamishli, though they were cut short by the intervention of the Asayish according to local residents and video footage circulated on social media.
The AANES says that regime forces have prevented the entry of heating fuel, food, and other basic materials into camps for the displaced in the Afrin region in the northern Aleppo countryside.
Suleiman Jaafar, co-chair of the Legislative Council of the Autonomous Administration in Afrin, said in a previous statement to North Press that the siege imposed by the Damascus government aims to expel IDPs from the region.
He added that the siege on the displaced in Afrin is not new, as the government previously imposed a siege on the area only a week after the displacement of the population in 2018, and that the siege is renewed occasionally.
Demonstrators carried empty fuel cans to checkpoints of the government’s Fourth Division, and denounced the blockade.
Jaafar added that they had contacted the Damascus government, who responded that the blockade was the result of “individual actions taken by some security officers at the checkpoints.”
Jaafar demanded that Russian guarantor forces in the region pressure the Damascus government to lift the siege imposed on civilians.
Damascus and Ankara
The Syrian Democratic Council accuses both Ankara and Damascus of having a pact to target the SDF and AANES, according to previous statements by the head of the council’s Executive Body, Ilham Ahmed.
Ahmed explained that they do not exclude the possibility of such an agreement, adding, “The silence of the Syrian government about the Turkish army’s bombardment of Tel Rifaat, and the loss of three civilians’ lives, serves the policy of the Turkish state.
The most recent shelling on Tel Rifaat, in the northern countryside of Aleppo, left four dead, including two small children, and several others wounded.
The towns of Tel Tamr and Ain Issa have also come under attack by Turkish forces and the pro-Turkish opposition, in an area close to points belonging to regime forces.
Officials in the Syrian Democratic Council explained that Damascus is “not serious” in protecting its sovereignty and the integrity of its borders and territory.