ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three Kurdish brothers were shot and beaten by armed men on Friday while driving home in a car displaying the Kurdistan flag in Hasaka province in northeast Syria (Rojava), following local protests.
Rudaw’s Viviyan Fetah reported from Hasaka on Saturday that three Kurdish brothers were receiving medical treatment after armed men shot and beat them in the city.
The attack took place as the brothers were driving home through the Sinaa roundabout in a car displaying the Kurdistan flag, following demonstrations by groups of Arab residents in the city on Friday.
The incident follows days of unrest in Hasaka, where pro-government Arab demonstrators have protested against Kurdish authorities and called for the full restoration of Syrian government control over the city.
The injured brothers were identified as Nazir Mohammed Siraj Sheikho, 20, Diyar, 16, and Mohammed, 19.
Rudaw has learned that Nazir and Diyar sustained gunshot wounds, while their brother Mohammed was beaten by the armed group.
Diyar underwent pelvic surgery after being struck by a bullet during the attack. Medical reports indicate that three bullets remain lodged in the teenager’s back and will require further surgical intervention.
Nazir was shot in the neck and is awaiting the results of medical tests before undergoing surgery. Meanwhile, Mohammed sustained beatings to his back and face during the assault.
Tensions escalated across the city after protesters targeted Kurdish symbols, including flags and an image of a woman's braid, which has recently emerged as a symbol of Kurdish resistance in Rojava.
Kurdish residents subsequently staged counter-protests, leading to confrontations with state-affiliated security forces, as footage circulated by the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) showed personnel firing into the air to disperse demonstrators.
The unrest comes despite progress in implementing a landmark January agreement between the SDF and Damascus to integrate the Kurdish-led administration's civilian and military institutions into the Syrian state.
RELATED: US urges restraint amid rising tensions in Syria’s Hasaka
