Syrian authorities trying keep Arabs, Kurds from clashing in Hasakah city

BEIRUT, October 9. /TASS/. Syria’s internal security forces have been deployed to the city of Hasakah, the administrative center of the governorate of the same name, to prevent clashes between the city’s Arab population and Kurds, the Al-Ikhbariya television channel reported.

According to the TV channel, demonstrations of the city’s Arabs erupted after the Friday prayer. The demonstrators installed Syrian national flags in the city squares. The police clashed with activists who were attempting to provoke riots in a number of neighborhoods. Several law enforcement officers sustained injuries.

The situation in Hsakah is under the control of the central authorities, the TV channel said, adding that police cordons around Kurd-populated neighborhood in the city’s northern part have been reinforced. However, despite enhanced security measures, crowds of Arabs from neighboring settlements of Al Rashidiya, Al-Haddadiyah, and Al-Shaddadi have managed to get into the city, exacerbating the situation.

The political council of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition called on the city’s residents, ethnic Arabs, Assyrians, and Kurds, to stay calm and not to yield to potential provocations. "The SDF insists that the government in Damascus is responsible for maintaining civil peace and public order," it said in a statement. "We call on social and political forces, parties, tribal and religious leaders to prevent the dissemination of hostile rhetoric and rumors intended to incite unrest."

Protests triggered by the shooting of a Kurdish young man were held in the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani) in the Aleppo governorate on September 12. This was the first incident after the dissolution of Kurdish armed units that had been announced by SDF commander Mazloum Abdi on August 25. Kurdish fighters were incorporated into the Syrian army and law enforcement forces in northeastern Syria.