ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four people were injured in Hasaka, northeast Syria (Rojava) on Tuesday after clashes erupted between a pro-regime militia group and gunmen from a prominent Arab tribe following a days-long sit-in against an attack on a tribal leader.
Earlier this week, militants from the pro-regime National Defence forces attacked a leader from the prominent al-Jubour tribe. This angered people from the Arab tribe who demonstrated outside the group’s headquarters in Hasaka and demanded them to hand over their commander Abd al-Qadir Hamo who has been accused of carrying out the attack
The commander is also accused of dealing with drugs and persecuting people.
The tribe had given the militia group until Tuesday morning to meet their demand. However, when there was no positive response more armed men from the tribe arrived in the city, which was followed by an armed clash. At least four people from the tribe were injured, according to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency.
Hasaka is controlled by the Kurdish forces but a small part of the city, known as the Security Square, where regime institutions are located, is under the control of Damascus.
The tribe is close to the Kurdish administration in Rojava.
The Hasaka governor’s office, which is affiliated to the regime, denied in a statement on its Facebook account on Tuesday that any clashes had taken place in the city.
“There is no truth to what social media pages are circulating about the existence of clashes in the centre of the city of Hasakah, and what is being circulated are rumours aimed at spreading panic among the people,” read the statement.
“What happened was stray bullets fired outside the areas of control of the Syrian Arab Army, and the situation was controlled after the intervention of wise people,” it added.
The tribe has given the militia group another deadline, Wednesday morning, to hand over their commander and dissolve the force, threatening to attack its headquarters if their demands are not met, reported local media and a war monitor.
