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Syrian forces continue to hit Kurd positions in Hasakah
[ARA News] HASAKAH – Kurdish neighborhoods in the Syrian northeastern Hasakah city were exposed on Thursday to heavy shelling and airstrikes by the regime forces.The Assad regime has used warplanes to bomb Hasakah for the first time. At least five civilians were killed and dozens more wounded in the regime bombardment in the Kurdish-held Kalasseh and Mahatta neighborhoods, informed local sources old ARA News. Also, the city saw a wave of displacement among the people who tried to head to more stable areas in the province. Meanwhile, a number of civilians remained stranded in Hasakah’s conflicted areas where clashes continued between the Kurdish Asayish forces and the pro-regime troops. Escalating Tentions Clashes erupted Tuesday between the Kurds and the Syrian regime forces in the northeastern city of Hasakah. It’s unclear how many were killed in the clashes. Clashes broke out between the Kurdish security police [Asayish] and the pro-regime National Defence Forces in the city centre of Hasakah, near the Hasakah market, after regime forces attacked Kurdish positions on Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of civilians fled the market after violence resumed in the city center. Reportedly, several civilians were injured. “PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party] has thus far been trying to bypass the Syrian regime by fostering relations with Russia at the expense of the Syrian state,” Ceng Sagnic, a researcher with the Tel Aviv-based Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, told ARA News. “As such, escalated tensions between PYD and Syrian regime forces are not any surprise,” he said. Moreover, analysts suggest the Syrian government rejects any form of federalism in northern Syria, and is not happy with the plans of the Kurdish-led local administration to move towards federalism in northern Syria and Rojava–announced in March this year. There have been serious rifts between the two sides over the last few months. In late April, heavy clashes took pace between the regime and the Kurdish security forces. In late July, there were also clashes between a pro-regime militia and the Kurds. Furthermore, Kurdish officials blamed the regime for facilitating an ISIS attack in the city of Qamishli on 27 July that killed over 50 civilians. Posted by: badanov 2016-08-19 |
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