Baladi News – (Alaa Noureddine)
For the previous three days, the city of al-Hasakah has witnessed a state of anxiety and tension between the Syrian regime and PYD militias for unknown reasons. This state resulted in reciprocal mass detentions against Arab and Kurd civilians as well as a number of managers of the regime governmental departments and establishments in the city.
A private source confirmed to Baladi News correspondent that nearly 100 Kurdish people were detained by the National Defense militia in the regime-held al-Nashwa neighborhood including public servants and university students while passing through the checkpoints of the militia. The Kurdish units responded by detaining a number of Arab public servants, including the General Directors of the establishments of Water Utility, Granaries, Irrigation, Mills, and Fodders, as well as a number of administrative managers in the Syrian regime departments.
The source added that, “due to these detentions, hundreds of civil servants abstained from going to their jobs fearing detention by the regime and the Kurdish Units checkpoints.”
Civilians expressed their concern about the rising tension and the possibility that it could turn into conflict between the two sides, which would directly affect civilians, especially that the city had previously witnessed clashes between the two sides that resulted in dozens of casualties among civilians.
The source also indicated that a meeting between leaders of both sides had been held last Wednesday to settle the dispute, but no decision had been issued in regard to the release of the kidnapped so far.
Media interested in the Kurdish and Assad’s regime affairs in al-Hasaka city and countryside confirmed that both are following racial discrimination policy between the components of Syrian people in their controlled areas.
Yakiti Media website said “the Syrian regime forces harassed Kurdish young people in al-Hasakah city center and the areas held by them on Wednesday the 10th of August 2016”. The website also cited eye witnesses who confirmed that “the National Defense militia detains young men based on identity in al-Hasakah city center, then it interrogates, humiliates, and sometimes beats them in the streets downtown. Such a practice came in response to the detention of several Arab civil servants by PYD forces.”
A civil servant, calling himself M.R, was quoted as saying, “PYD forces detained a number of Arab civil servants during their working hours in al-Hasakah Granaries Establishment as well as the Irrigation Department located in PYD-held areas.”
The speaker added that “such unbearable practices by both sides exceeded all limits, and a high degree of tension exists between many Arabs and Kurdish civilians due to such practices.”
Syrian journalist, Ayman al-Hassan, thinks that such practices cannot be merely attributed to individuals. Rather, they are dictated by the leaderships of both sides. The journalist said, “I believe that there is a previous agreement between them on pursuing such a policy in order to separate and deviate the attention of Syrians from the violations of the militias of both sides on the ground.”
In his interview with Syria News, Al-Hassan confirmed that three parties are known to follow discrimination policy; PYD, the Assad’s regime, and ISIS. He also highlighted the high level of coordination at the leadership level between PYD and Assad’s regime in governing the areas held by them, which raises questions regarding the aim of the practices of their militias.