Rebel infighting causes growing insecurity in Afrin
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A fight over hookah escalated into deadly clashes between two Syrian militias in Afrin as the security situation in the northwestern corner of the country continues to deteriorate to the point that some families from Eastern Ghouta sheltering in Afrin have opted to go home.
The hookah fight took place between members of the al-Sultan Mohammed al-Fatih brigade and the Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah brigade, a source from inside Afrin told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
The two groups are backed by Turkey.
Several fighters were killed and wounded in the clash.
Security in Afrin has been in a tailspin since the Kurdish canton came under control of Turkish forces and their allied Syrian militias.
There have been several reports of infighting among armed groups recently, with Turkish forces having to play peacekeeper.
The UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented several clashes between rebel groups in Syria over issues like assuming proprietorship of homes left vacant by owners who fled the Turkish-led military offensive.
There have also been clashes between the Ahrar al-Sham force and families displaced from Eastern Ghouta.
Hundreds of families were relocated from formerly rebel-held areas of Eastern Ghouta to Afrin after the canton came under Turkish control. Many have been housed in IDP camps. Others moved into empty Kurdish homes – some of them paying rent to the owners of the homes.
The Observatory reported on Tuesday that Ahrar al-Sham had forced seven families out of homes in Afrin city and warned them not to return. The families had signed rental contracts with the homeowners – a fact that drew the ire of the Ahrar al-Sham militants who consider Afrin “liberated” territory.
The evicted families were threatened with imprisonment on the charge of “dealing with Kurdish forces” if they returned.
Afrin has witnessed acts of looting, arrests of persons alleged to have ties to the ousted Kurdish forces, and many of the original inhabitants have been prevented from returning home. Kurdish leaders accused Turkey of instituting demographic change in the region that was 95 percent Kurdish before Turkey’s military offensive earlier this year.
Aid agencies have repeatedly reported a difficulty in accessing the area. The United Nations has been unable to access Afrin from inside Syria.
According to the Observatory, the poor humanitarian and security situation in Afrin has driven many recent arrivals to return to their homes. About 400 families displaced from Eastern Ghouta when the regime took control of their neighbourhood, are preparing to go back home because of lack of services and medical aid, and ill treatment at the hands of forces, the monitor reported.
The hookah fight took place between members of the al-Sultan Mohammed al-Fatih brigade and the Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah brigade, a source from inside Afrin told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
The two groups are backed by Turkey.
Several fighters were killed and wounded in the clash.
Security in Afrin has been in a tailspin since the Kurdish canton came under control of Turkish forces and their allied Syrian militias.
There have been several reports of infighting among armed groups recently, with Turkish forces having to play peacekeeper.
The UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented several clashes between rebel groups in Syria over issues like assuming proprietorship of homes left vacant by owners who fled the Turkish-led military offensive.
There have also been clashes between the Ahrar al-Sham force and families displaced from Eastern Ghouta.
Hundreds of families were relocated from formerly rebel-held areas of Eastern Ghouta to Afrin after the canton came under Turkish control. Many have been housed in IDP camps. Others moved into empty Kurdish homes – some of them paying rent to the owners of the homes.
The Observatory reported on Tuesday that Ahrar al-Sham had forced seven families out of homes in Afrin city and warned them not to return. The families had signed rental contracts with the homeowners – a fact that drew the ire of the Ahrar al-Sham militants who consider Afrin “liberated” territory.
The evicted families were threatened with imprisonment on the charge of “dealing with Kurdish forces” if they returned.
Afrin has witnessed acts of looting, arrests of persons alleged to have ties to the ousted Kurdish forces, and many of the original inhabitants have been prevented from returning home. Kurdish leaders accused Turkey of instituting demographic change in the region that was 95 percent Kurdish before Turkey’s military offensive earlier this year.
Aid agencies have repeatedly reported a difficulty in accessing the area. The United Nations has been unable to access Afrin from inside Syria.
According to the Observatory, the poor humanitarian and security situation in Afrin has driven many recent arrivals to return to their homes. About 400 families displaced from Eastern Ghouta when the regime took control of their neighbourhood, are preparing to go back home because of lack of services and medical aid, and ill treatment at the hands of forces, the monitor reported.