“The cities of Qamishlo and Hasaka witnessed security disturbance caused by Syrian government forces as an attempt to disrupt the stability in the region and coexistence between the different entities of it,” read a statement from the Asayesh (internal security forces) of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
The statement followed clashes between the Syrian government’s National Defence Forces (NDF) and Asayesh in the “security square” area of the city of Hasaka on Sunday, during a demonstration staged by regime loyalists to lift a Kurdish security force-imposed “siege” on their neighborhood.
“Today’s demonstration is to lift the siege. They have prevented the import of fuel and flour into the neighbourhood,” local shopkeeper Ahmed Alaabood told Rudaw’s Viviyan Fetah on Sunday.
The Asayesh said in Tuesday’s statement that it would be ensuring the flow of goods to government-controlled areas.
“As a gesture of goodwill, and to protect the unity of the Syrian land and people and protect their blood, we ensure the return of life to normal in those areas and allow the entry of all goods to areas where Syrian government forces are stationed in Qamishlo and Hasaka,” the Asayesh statement read.
One person was killed and at least three others were injured in Sunday’s clashes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring events in the country reported that the deceased was a policeman with the pro-government forces.
Rojava is under the control of Kurdish-led forces, but Damascus has retained a limited presence in a few areas, including so-called “security squares” in Hasaka and Qamishli that house government buildings. The Asayesh have imposed a siege on those areas for more than 20 days.
The internal security forces have said they will lift their siege when the regime lifts its blockade on the Shahba region, according to SOHR. Shahba is a pocket of territory north of Aleppo under Kurdish control, where many families displaced from Afrin have been sheltering since Turkey invaded the area in 2018.
Hawar news, a media outlet close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), reported that the blockade was imposed after “provocations” from regime forces, amid bubbling tensions between the two sides in recent weeks.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict ten years ago, the Kurdish-majority north established an autonomous administration, carving out an area of control known as Rojava where they have governed their own affairs and promoted the rights of minority groups, including Kurds, who were marginalized for decades under the regime. The Kurds also established their own armed forces, the SDF, that were key allies of the international forces in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Damascus largely left Rojava alone while it focused on fighting rebel forces in other parts of the country, but its goal is to reassert federal control over all of Syria. The Kurds attempted to negotiate with Damascus for autonomy, but talks fell through.
