Sheikh Hayyes al-Jaryyan, a leader from the Bani Saba’a tribe, was killed late Thursday night. He was shot by a sniper after leaving a meeting seeking to find a solution to end days of clashes in Qamishli, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Jaryyan was reportedly close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and his death is being blamed on the pro-regime National Defence Forces (NDF).
Clashes broke out between the NDF and the Asayish on Tuesday night in Qamishli, which lies within areas administered by Kurdish forces, known as Rojava, but the regime maintains pockets of control in the city. Two children and a member of the Asayish have been killed.
Russia mediated a ceasefire on Wednesday that would see Russian troops deployed to areas where fighting took place, but it is not a permanent agreement. "This is merely a truce, not a lasting solution,” said Basman al-Assaf, head of the United Syria Association, a political organization in Rojava.
Early Friday morning, NDF snipers began firing on civilian houses in central al-Tai neighbourhood, the North Press Agency reported. Clashes have also broken out on the western side of the same neighbourhood, according to ANHA news.
The Asayish had taken control of parts of al-Tai earlier this week, the Observatory reported, noting “the failure of the Russian-sponsored negotiations to reach a solution.”
General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US CENTCOM, said the US is ready to help. “We’ll do anything we can to help in de-escalating these clashes,” he said in press conference on Thursday, in answer to a question from Rudaw’s Roj Eli Zalla.
He added that he expects such clashes to continue. “I’m not sure that they’re going to go away, particularly as pro-regime forces continue to push to the east. I think they may even rise over the coming weeks and months. We’ll be prepared to deal with that at every level. You prefer to deal with it at the diplomatic level, if you can, or through talking. But we’ll be prepared to assist our SDF partners.”
Kurdish and regime forces have largely avoided major confrontations during Syria’s decade of conflict. Syrian forces were deployed to areas along the border with Turkey as part of a ceasefire to end a Turkish military incursion in 2019. The Kurdish administration has tried to negotiate with Damascus to ensure the future of the autonomous region they carved out during the conflict, but talks have failed.
