ARA News
HASAKAH – The Syrian Kurds on Tuesday took control of most of the city of Hasakah in a battle that lasted for seven days.
Several negotiations took place to stop the fighting between the Syrian regime and the Kurds, but they did not succeed to stop the fighting until Tuesday reaching a ceasefire agreement.
During seven days of clashes, regime jets carried out air strikes for three consecutive days and without air strikes the Syrian government forces were not able to resist Kurdish advances that took control of around 90 to 95 per cent of the city.
US-led coalition jets prevented in the past few days Syrian regime jets from striking Kurdish positions. However, sounds of regime helicopters and unidentified air planes remained in the sky of Hasakah in northeastern Syria.
The agreement said that all the Syrian troops and affiliated militias had to withdraw from Hasakah city and that areas captured by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) would stay under their control. Most likely they will be replaced by civil police.
Speaking to ARA News, YPG fighter Abdulsalam Omer (20) said that only the security square is in the hands of the Syrian government, and confirmed that many Arab fighters joined the Kurdish-led Asayish security force and the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
“We joined to protect our honour, land and people,” he said.
The truce also stressed that both sides should release their prisoners, open roads that were closed because of clashes, and civil servants that were fired to be reinstated in their jobs.
“Yesterday night we have reached a ceasefire agreement,” Ismail Rasho, a YPG official told ARA News in Hasakah. “Only the security square is left, the rest of the city is liberated like Gweran and Nashwa districts.”
“There is not much left for the regime, only the municipality area,” he added.
The Kurdish forces were helped by the fact that the Syrian regime jets couldn’t strike the forces–that have been backed by US-led coalition jets in the fight against ISIS.
“From the beginning the regime jets carried out strikes for two or three days, but after that they stopped,” Rasho said.
Sheikh Salih Obeid, an official in the YPG military relations office, thanked the Americans for their indirect support. “I also thank President Obama,” he said.
Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg
Source: ARA News
For the latest news follow us on Twitter
Join our Weekly Newsletter
You must concentrate on the western fields of war zones.
Especially northern-northeastern parts of Aleppo.
Thats the most important region for Kurds.