Syrian government forces entered the city of Hasakah today, a Kurdish stronghold in the north-east of the country, in line with an agreement between Damascus and the Kurds, according to a team from Agence France-Presse on the ground.
The agreement was announced on Friday, 30 January, after months of tensions and clashes between Damascus’s troops and Kurdish forces. It provides for the deployment of government forces in the autonomous Kurdish zone and the integration of Kurdish forces and administration into the Syrian state.
An AFP correspondent saw a convoy of armoured vehicles and Syrian security forces vehicles crossing a checkpoint held by Kurdish forces, whose members, men and women, were lined up on both sides of the road, holding their weapons.
Residents waving Syrian flags had gathered along both sides of the road leading into the city, while ululations from women could be heard in celebration, according to the AFP correspondent.
Local Kurdish forces imposed a curfew today in the centre of Hasakah, which is inhabited by Kurds and Arabs, in order to “ensure the safety of residents”.
Reuters reported that its journalists saw a convoy of at least 30 vehicles belonging to the Interior Ministry begin moving towards the city from a position outside Hasakah in the early afternoon. Two local sources in the city said the forces entered shortly afterwards.
The government forces are expected to be deployed in Syrian state buildings in the so-called “security zone” of Hasakah, a Syrian official and a Kurdish security source told Reuters before the deployment of Syrian troops in the city.
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Photo source: AFP
Source: ANA-MPA
