ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – One person was killed and at least three others injured in a firefight between Kurdish forces and those loyal to the regime in Hasaka, northeastern Syria on Sunday.
The clash broke out between the National Defense Forces of the Syrian regime and Asayesh (Kurdish internal security) during a demonstration staged by regime loyalists to lift a Kurdish-imposed “siege” on their neighbourhood.
When gunfire broke out, Rudaw’s Viviyan Fetah was reporting live from Hasaka’s bazaar where many shops had been closed.
Syrian state media SANA reported the person killed was a civilian. Rudaw has not been able to independently identify the casualty.
The Asayesh have imposed a “siege” on regime-held areas in both Hasaka and Qamishli for more than 20 days, according to a UK-based conflict monitor. Civilians are still free to move around, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted.
To break the siege, regime forces “began to incite the residents and their supporters to hold a demonstration” in both Hasaka and Qamishli on Sunday morning, according to the Observatory. The Asayesh reportedly warned civilians to avoid areas under regime control.
SANA said the siege prevents delivery of basic supplies including food and water to regime-held areas.
The Asayesh have said they will lift the siege when the regime lifts its blockade on the Shahba region, according to the Observatory. Shahba is a pocket of territory under Kurdish control north of Aleppo where many families displaced from Afrin have been sheltering since a 2018 Turkey invasion.
Media close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Hawar news, reported the siege was imposed after “provocations” from regime forces as tensions between the two sides have escalated in recent weeks, with several clashes and incidents in both Hasaka and Qamishli where the regime maintains areas of control within the Kurdish autonomous area known as Rojava.
Two people were killed, including a child, and tens more were injured by a grenade in Hasaka on January 2. Hawar news reported the regime’s National Defense Forces were to blame.
Last week, the two sides exchanged gunfire in Qamishli.
