Syrian Army aircraft boms Kurdish neighborhoods of Hasaka

HASAKA, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – On Thursday, Syrian government air forces bombed the Kurdish neighborhoods of Syria’s Kurdistan (Rojava) city of Hasaka.

A Kurdistan24 correspondent in Hasaka reported that Syrian fighter jets launched a series of aerial strikes against the positions of the Syrian Kurdish Forces of People Protection Units (YPG) in the city.

The bombardment came after clashes broke out in the city on Tuesday between the Syrian Kurdish Security forces (Asayish) and the militias affiliated with the Syrian government.

Kurdistan24 learned from the public hospital of Aziziya in Hasaka that a woman lost her life and about seven civilians were wounded in the aerial strikes and artillery shelling by the Syrian army.

Kurdish security forces told Kurdistan24 that the artillery shelling by the Syrian Army units destroyed a hospital in the Kurdish-held area of the city.

The hospital is located near a strategic square called Marsho in the Kurdish-held area of Hasaka.

The casualty toll is increasing as the aerial strikes and artillery shelling are ongoing. 

After a few hours of shelling, Kurdistan24 correspondent in Hasaka reported that at least four civilians lost their lives and about twenty others were injured.

Hasaka city has witnessed a mass departure of people who fled the war-torn city and resorted to the safe Kurdish-held areas in Rojava.

Syrian government forces and their affiliates could not be reached for comment.

The city has witnessed violent clashes many times in the last three months.

Hasaka is the capital of the surrounding province of the same name. The city is under the shared control of the government forces with their affiliates, and Kurdish forces (Asayish and YPG).

Some professional institutions in the city are still operating and are funded by the Syrian government.

These include the Public Directorate of Education, the Justice Palace, Directorate of Migration and Passport, and many other public departments.

Editing by Ava Homa 

(Kurdistan24 correspondent Heybar Othman contributed to this report from Hasaka)

[Kurdistan24 correspondent Heybar Othman stands beside a military checkpoint in the Kurdish-held neighborhood of Salihiya in Syria's northeastern city of Hasaka, Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Syria, August 18, 2016)]