Over 3,000 People Flee Syria’s Al Hasakah SFD-IS Amid Clashes, Authorities Say

BEIRUT, (Sputnik) – More than 3,000 people have fled to a state-controlled enclave in the city of Al Hasakah, where heavy fighting has been ongoing for several days between the Arab-Kurdish formations of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States, and militants of Daesh*, said Hasan Khalil, Governor of of Al-Hasakah province.

"The territories controlled by the state are quiet at the moment. More than 3,000 refugees have already been accepted, all the necessary conditions have been provided for them. Four temporary stay centers have been opened, and transport has been organized to transport refugees from Syrian army checkpoints into the city. Ambulances are also involved to transport the sick and wounded," Khalil said in an interview with the Syrian newspaper Al Watan.

On 20 January, Daesh militants attacked a prison in the area hosting other terrorists. According to attackers captured by the Kurdish forces, up to 200 suicide bombers participated in the ambush.

Clashes have been ongoing between the SDF and terrorists who managed to flee to residential quarters after the attack. It is reported they used around 700 minors as human shields. On the Kurdish side, over 10,000 soldiers have been mobilized to fight militants, assisted by military equipment of the US-led international coalition.

According to the latest data, 175 terrorists and 27 Kurdish soldiers have been killed in the hostilities.

Khalil said that one of the factors driving the influx of refugees is a series of US airstrikes in the area which are also hitting civilian infrastructure.

“The situation is under control and stable. Readiness is needed, and we are ready. We are doing everything necessary, and we will not allow the IS to advance in our direction,” the governor stressed.

The armed conflict in Syria has been going on since 2011, with Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces fighting different insurgent groups. In late 2017, Daesh was declared defeated in Syria and Iraq, but counterterrorism operations continue.

Washington is backing the armed Kurdish groups located in the country despite protests from the Syrian government. The US military currently controls parts of the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Raqqa, Aleppo, and Deir Ez-Zor, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located.

Damascus does not recognize the so-called autonomous administration of northern and eastern Syria and calls the presence of the American military on its territory an occupation and state piracy with the aim of outright theft of oil.

*Daesh (also known as the Islamic State, IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states