Syrian Kurdish-led forces take control of Qamishlo neighborhood after ceasefire

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Northeast Syria’s Internal Security Forces (Asayish) declared control over the al-Tay neighborhood in Qamishlo city following several days of clashes with pro-government fighters after a permanent ceasefire with Russian support was declared.

“A permanent truce, mediated and guaranteed by the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] and Russian forces, has been reached in Qamishlo city. The Asayish will remain committed to the deal as long as it is not violated by other parties,” the Asayish in a statement on Sunday.

“The residents of al-Tay neighborhood who left their homes due to escalation will be assisted by our forces to return to their homes.”

Local reports indicate that on Monday civilians began returning to al-Tay.

Nicholas Heras, Senior Analyst at the Newlines Institute in Washington, DC, told Kurdistan 24 that al-Tay  was a key stronghold of support for the Assad regime in northeast Syria's most important city.

“The regime could claim to have some popular support in a city otherwise dominated by the Autonomous Administration because of the neighborhood,” he said.

“The fact of Asayish control over the neighborhood vividly demonstrates that despite Russian and Iranian support for the regime, the SDF backed by the United States will always have more muscle to dominate this area of Syria than Damascus.”

According to the Syrian Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) the neighborhood was captured from the National Defense Forces (NDF) militia “except for the Abbas Alawi School that has been turned into a security base for the Syrian Government as well all streets surrounding the Water Tower.”

Sasha Hoffman, a Syria-based researcher at the Rojava Information Center (RIC), told Kurdistan 24 that the Syrian regime will likely establish a security square from the “Abbas Allawi School and the streets around the water tower to the Damascus-controlled outskirts.”

“Some buildings are destroyed by the fighting, as well as some shops which were deliberately burned down by retreating NDF militias. Residents are currently being bused back into al-Tayy, as NDF is forced to leave the area.”

On Sunday night, brief clashes again erupted after NDF militias attacked positions of the Asayish.

However, as of Monday morning the situation was calm on the ground and the Asayish had called on residents from al-Tay to return.

Clashes erupted in Qamishlo on April 20 when the NDF shot dead Khalid Haji, a commander from the Asayish, part of the US-backed SDF.

Earlier attempts by Russia to calm tensions and reach a permanent ceasefire deal had earlier failed after Hayes Jaryan, a sheikh from the Bani Saba clan who was part of delegation to stop the clashes was shot and killed, allegedly by an NDF sniper, after returning from the airport.

According to Hoffman “a point of contention remains the fate of Abdul Fattah al-Laylu, the NDF commander who murdered Khalid Haji and thereby caused last weeks fighting.”

“His handover was one of the original demands of the Asayish forces for an end to the fighting. As this has not happened, tension between the two groups will remain high.”

Additional reporting by Akram Salih in Qamishlo. Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly.