Most of the other illegal forces in Syria are Kurdish forces, supported by the US government to break Syria apart so as to create a separate Kurdish state in the majority-Kurdish far north-eastern tip of Syria.
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“We’ve said specifically we will protect coalition forces and our partnered operations” with such USA -backed opposition groups as the Syrian Arab Coalition and the Kurdish militia known as the YPG, or People’s Protection Units. Later, he said, “You can label it what you want”.
Syrian Kurdish groups seize almost all Hasaka * Turkey shells Kurdish positions in Manbij * Turkey-backed rebels expected to launch attack for Jarablus * Commander of Jarablus military council assassinated BEIRUT, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Kurdish forces were in near full control of Syria’s city of Hasaka on Tuesday after battling pro-government militias, though some government officials remained holed up in buildings in the city centre, a Kurdish official and monitoring group said.
Clashes erupted on Wednesday between the Kurdish police force known as the Asayesh and the pro-government National Defence Forces militia (NDF).
“This battle is decided and we will not retreat”.
Last week, the tense power-sharing arrangement in Hasakah broke down, leading to Syrian government forces striking YPG/SDF-controlled targets, with the government accusing them of “provocations” in the city.
A video obtained by The Associated Press showed air raids, shelling and firing on the complex, which was taken over by al-Qaida-affiliated fighters earlier this month.
Russian Federation brokered a brief ceasefire between the two sides Sunday – but hours later, shortly after midnight Monday, Kurdish forces relaunched their offensive.
After two days of negotiations mediated by Russian Federation, a Syrian military source told AFP that a deal was struck between government forces and Kurdish fighters – a claim Kurdish sources denied.
In July, the YPG assisted pro-government forces in establishing control over the Castello road, a strategic highway that had linked rebel-held areas of Aleppo city to the Turkish border.
The deal also stipulated that casualties would be transferred north to Qamishli.
Fighting escalated Thursday when regime warplanes bombarded YPG-held positions in the city for the first time.
The offensive has even led to a rare point of agreement between Assad and the opposition: Both Damascus and the rebels have insisted they aim to maintain Syria’s territorial integrity and are vehemently against what they describe as “secessionist projects”.
Additional negotiations were set to take place on Monday.
Thousands of civilians in the ethnically mixed city, including members of the Christian community, have fled to villages in the countryside as the fighting intensified, residents said.
For years US military officials have expressed concerns about a confrontation with the Syrian Air Force and more specifically the Syrian regime’s potentially formidable anti-aircraft defenses.
Hasaka’s governor told state media after the flare-up of violence the military had armed the YPG with weapons and tanks to fight Islamist elements but had not expected them to turn against them.
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It is broadly divided along ethnic lines, with Kurds mainly in the city’s eastern neighbourhoods and Arabs in the southern parts.
