Mohammed Za’al Ali, the governor of Hasaka, said that Kurdish fighters intend to push out government forces from strategic points of the Kurdish-majority city.
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On Sunday Russian military officers flew from Hmeimim air base by the Mediterranean to Qamishli in Hassakeh province, the site of similar clashes in April, to mediate talks between the government and the YPG.
“Right now in the city you do not have electricity, you do not have bread”, he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a military source said the Kurds seized territory across several neighborhoods in the city’s south in violent clashes on the night of August 20, as clashes have been continuing since August 17.
Since Wednesday, clashes between the two forces have rocked the city, leaving 23 civilians – including nine children – and 16 combatants dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Damascus may have interpreted that Turkish concession as permission to attempt to reestablished state control in the breakaway Kurdish districts.
Around two-thirds of Hasakeh is controlled by Kurdish forces, while the rest is held by pro-government militia.
A Kurdish journalist who is in Hassakeh, Heybar Othman, told the BBC that it was the first time the Syrian government had used air power against the city.
“It’s very unusual, we never saw the regime carry out such actions against the Kurdish forces before”, said Jeff Davis. Additionally, the US -led coalition contacted the Russian military through a communications link it has for air safety over Syria; the Russians said they did not have aircraft in the area.
The YPG has emerged as a major fighting force in northern Syria in the past two years, becoming a key ally of the US-led coalition against IS.
“The same truce, with similar terms, was agreed two days ago, but hours later, the deal collapsed”, said Ahelbarra, who added that there was no mention of the latest reported ceasefire on Kurdish media.
The regime and Kurdish forces share a common enemy in IS, but there have been tensions between them in Hasakeh.
The Syrian and Russian air forces are routinely deployed in the war in western Syria.
He declined to say which coalition forces tried to reach the Syrians.
Washington regards them as the most effective fighting force on the ground against the jihadists in Syria and has provided them with air cover and military advisers. Relentless shelling and airstrikes have killed more than 300 civilians in the city since rebels broke through a government blockade of the opposition-held east on July 31.
The Pentagon has warned Syria and Russian Federation that the United States was ready to shoot down their planes, which Washington claims threaten American advisers in northern Syria.
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All Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to them will withdraw from the city while the local police remain to protect the security square, the SOHR said.
