Calm Returns to Qamishli after Tension between Regime, Kurdish Forces

Statue of Basel al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Qamishli (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Statue of Basel al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Qamishli (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Calm Returns to Qamishli after Tension between Regime, Kurdish Forces

Statue of Basel al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Qamishli (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Statue of Basel al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Qamishli (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tensions have eased in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishili after Russian forces intervened following clashes between pro-regime and Kurdish forces.

The Russian forces, deployed in the vicinity of the city's airport, brokered an agreement to release all detainees and end the fighting.

Qamishli is controlled by various forces. The regime maintains a security zone inside the city along the international airport, while the Kurdish Autonomous Administration controls the Qamishli region.

Locals reported tension on Monday between the regime and the Kurdish Asayish forces against the backdrop of mutual arrests.

Military forces were seen on high alert and deployed along separation lines, including Qaddour Beik, al-Jisr al-Jadid, and the western part of the security zone.

Asaad, 45, who works in a pastry shop in Qamishli, said tensions prevailed in the area and there was an unusual heavy deployment of military units, noting that many streets and neighborhoods were closed.

He also reported that security forces asked civilians and residents to avoid the central market area.

Kurdish security sources said that the tension grew after the Syrian regime detained one of their members. The Kurds responded by arresting Syrian troops after they refused mediations to release the detainees.

The Russian military police repeatedly intervene to maintain stability in the city.

In December, tensions renewed after mutual arrests between the Asayish and the regime forces, but Moscow succeeded in releasing all detainees.

Earlier, three officers and a brigadier general of the General Air Force Intelligence Service at the airport were arrested, which led to tensions in the area.

In response, the General Air Force Intelligence arrested a number of civilians and employees of the Autonomous Administration on charges of failing to perform compulsory government service.

As a result, military forces were deployed at the junction leading to the airport and at the entrances to al-Tayy and Halko neighborhoods.

They also established checkpoints near the exits of the security zone, amid warnings for residents to stay away from the checkpoints and windows.

Medical sources said that four members of the regime forces were injured.

Zainab, a resident of the security zone, said the area falls under the control of regime troops. However, the Autonomous Administration controls everything.

The Arab Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by Washington, control most of the city and its commercial center. They are based in government departments and institutions. Whereas the regime forces, including the Moscow-backed National Defense forces, control the security zone, Qamishli airport, and the regiment 137.

In addition, the Sutoro forces control the Christian neighborhoods in the city. The militias are divided in their affiliations, with some belonging to the Kurds and others to the regime.

Each military force determined its areas of control with earth mounds, sand bags, and checkpoints.

Civilians move easily from one neighborhood to another without inspections or identity papers. Vehicles with Autonomous Administration plates enter regime areas and streets under the control of the Sutoro Forces without any trouble. In return, regime members and their vehicles roam freely in the rest of the city.



Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
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Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)

Israel’s insistence that France can not be a member of the international committee that will monitor a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon is due to a series of French practices that have disturbed Israel recently, political sources in Tel Aviv revealed.
These practices are most notably attributed to the French judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, who has joined other judges to unanimously issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the sources revealed.
“The Israeli government is following with concern the French role at The Hague,” they said, noting that veteran French lawyer Gilles Devers led a team of 300 international lawyers of various nationalities who volunteered to accuse Israel of “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
According to the Israeli Maariv newspaper, Israeli officials believe that Devers, who signed the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Galant, would not have dared to do so without having received a green light from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Israeli sources also mentioned other reasons for Israel’s anger at France, such as the government’s decision to bar Israeli firms from exhibiting at the Euronaval arms show near Paris earlier this month.
French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel's security and point out that its military helped defend Israel after Iranian attacks in April and earlier this month.
Paris has so far also refused to recognize the Palestinian state. But the Israeli government is not satisfied. It wants France to follow the United States and blindly support its war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Tel Aviv also feels incredibly confident that France should be punished, and therefore, decided that Paris could not participate in the Lebanese ceasefire agreement, knowing that the Israeli government itself has traveled to Paris several times begging for its intervention, especially during the war on Lebanon.
Meanwhile, an air of optimism has emerged in Israel around the chances for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon following negotiations led by US envoy Amos Hochstein.
But any optimism relies on Netanyahu’s final decision. The PM is still conducting talks with his friends and allies of the far right who reject the ceasefire agreement and instead, demand that Lebanese citizens not be allowed to return to their villages on the border with Israel. They also request that a security belt be turned into a permanently depopulated and mined zone.
Hochstein Talks
Meanwhile, political sources in Israel claim that what is holding up a ceasefire deal so far is Lebanon. According to Israel's Channel 12, Hochstein expressed a “firm stance” during his talks with the Lebanese side. The envoy delivered clear terms that were passed on to Hezbollah, which the channel said “led to significant progress” in the talks.
Israeli officials said that Tel Aviv is moving towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with Hezbollah in the coming days.
The channel said that during his late visit to Tel Aviv, coming from Beirut after talks with Speaker Nabih Barri, Hochstein said, “I placed before them (Lebanese officials) a final warning, and it seems to have been effective.”
Iran Obstacle
Despite the “positive atmosphere,” informed diplomatic sources pointed to a major obstacle: Iran.
Channel 12 quoted the sources as saying that Lebanon has not yet received the final approval required from Iran, which has significant influence over Hezbollah.

According to the draft proposal, the Lebanese Army must be redeployed to the south and carry out a comprehensive operation to remove weapons from villages. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will “supervise and monitor the implementation of the operation.”
Channel 12 said Israel believes that such details could still derail the agreement. It also said that Hezbollah could violate the truce.
“In such cases, Israel would have to conduct military operations inside the Lebanese territory,” the channel reported, adding that “one of the unsettled issues is related to the committee that will oversee the implementation of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
The sources said Tel Aviv “insists that France is not part of the agreement, nor part of the committee that will oversee its implementation.”