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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syrian regime forces opened fire first in a deadly clash with a US convoy in Hasaka province on Monday, a local told Rudaw a day later.
Clashes erupted between Syrian regime forces and US troops southeast of Qamishli earlier this week, after a regime checkpoint attempted to block the Americans patrolling the area alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The clashes resulted in the killing of two regime soldiers, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
“The Syrian forces prevented them from passing, while the US convoy was trying to pass,” a Kurdish resident of Tal Az-Zahab, a village near the checkpoint, who refused to be named for security reasons, told Rudaw on Tuesday.
“After the US convoy pushed to pass, the Syrian forces were the ones who opened fire first,” the resident said. “In return the US convoy also opened fire against the Syrian forces.”
The sheikh of an Arab tribe in the village claims the US presence in the area only brings trouble.
“What is the aim of the US when they say that the SDF were part of the convoy? Well their aim is to create sedition in the area,” Bessan al-Assaf, sheikh of the Tay tribe, told Rudaw on Tuesday.
“The presence of the US troops in the area is an occupation, and will make the situation more complicated, and for sure it will increase tensions in the area,” Assaf added.
SOHR reported on Monday following the clash that an aircraft affiliated to the International Coalition struck the checkpoint, leaving many casualties among regime soldiers stationed at the checkpoint.
However, the US-led coalition in an official statement on Monday denied the occurrence of an airstrike.
“No coalition members were injured or killed,” the US-led coalition statement added.
This was the first direct military engagement between the United States and Syrian regime in recent months.
A unit from the Syrian army confronted a US military convoy in a village associated with the town of Tal Tamr in Hasaka province in July, but no fire was exchanged.
The US said it had "completely withdrawn" from northeastern Syria in late 2019, according to statements made by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. However around 600 soldiers remain across parts of the country to protect oil fields from the Islamic State (ISIS), according to Reuters.
The withdrawal of US troops in early October prompted international outcry as Turkish-backed forces invaded the areas held by the SDF since the defeat of ISIS.
Operation Peace Spring, greenlit by the decision of Commander-in-chief President Trump, saw Turkey launch its long-expected invasion of the region.
It aimed to cleanse the area of the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group, before resettling Arab refugees from elsewhere in Syria that have fled to Turkey since 2011.
Reporting by Rengin Sharo
Filming by Aras Hamo
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