Kurds and Syria regime agree to a ceasefire, 27 civilians killed

QAMISHLI, Saturday

Kurdish fighters and Syrian government representatives agreed to an indefinite ceasefire after three days of clashes in the northeastern city of Qamishli, Kurdish security forces said.

The fighting in the mainly Kurdish city began on Wednesday with a scuffle at a checkpoint; a rare outbreak of violence between the two sides.

Government officials and Kurdish security forces met at Qamishli’s airport to negotiate an end to the fighting.

They agreed to an indefinite truce as talks continue to find a permanent settlement to the dispute, according to a statement by the Kurdish police force, known as the Asayish.

“We will be committed to the truce until an appropriate solution is found and the regime stops its terrorist practices,” the statement said.

It added that 17 civilians, 10 Kurdish fighters and 31 regime forces were killed in the three days of clashes.

“I received orders to stop firing, but not to leave my position,” one Kurdish fighter said.

Carol, a resident of the government-controlled Wusta neighbourhood, said fighting had quieted since the high-level meeting between the regime and Kurds began.

“There’s no one walking in the streets. It is like there’s an unofficial curfew,” she said.

The meeting saw government representatives fly in from Damascus.

27 DEAD
The army and its militia allies control Qamishli airport and parts of the city, as well as parts of the provincial capital Hasakeh.

Nearly all of the rest of the province is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, who have declared an autonomous region.

That decision has angered Damascus as well as the opposition.

Kurdish authorities have declared zones of autonomous administration across parts of north and northeast Syria, something that has not gone down well with the regime.

Syrian troops and seasoned Kurdish fighters have coordinated on security in Hasakeh province where Islamic State jihadists have tried to advance, but tensions have built up between them.

Kurdish commander Jalnak Qamishlu said his units had been evacuating civilians from areas hit by the fighting.

Meanwhile, at least 27 civilians were killed in regime bombardment on rebel-held areas across Syria, a monitor and local sources said, in the latest deadly violence despite a ceasefire agreement.

Twelve civilians were killed in Aleppo, according to a local civil defence official, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 13 others died in shelling on the rebel town of Douma, east of Damascus.

Two men were killed in airstrikes on Talbisseh.

TRUCE COLLAPSE
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the escalating violence meant the ceasefire in Syria had effectively collapsed.

The deadliest raid was on the Tareeq al-Bab neighbourhood on the eastern edges of the city.

At the same time, IS captured a Syrian pilot after shooting down his plane east of Damascus, IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said.

Amaq gave the pilot’s name as Azzam Eid, from Hama. It said fighters shot down his plane and found him After he parachuted down to the crash site.

A video posted by Amaq showed the charred remains of the plane, some parts still on fire, lying on a vast desert plain.

Several apparent IS fighters in military-style fatigues circle around the wreckage, pointing to the two-starred Syrian government flag clearly visible on one of the wings.

Syrian state news agency SANA had no immediate news on the incident.