Forces from the Syrian Interior Ministry entered Hasakah in eastern Syria on Monday. The city has been controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“Syrian Interior Ministry security forces at the traffic center in Hasakah city,” North Press Agency, a Syrian news agency that is considered close to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria, reported Monday. “On Monday, government security forces entered the city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, in accordance with the agreement concluded between the Syrian government and the [SDF on January 30].”
This is an important milestone to determine whether the SDF and the Syrian Transitional Government can iron out their differences. There were clashes throughout January.
Hasakah city
Hasakah has about 400,000 residents, and it is also the capital of the Hasakah governorate in eastern Syria. That area is believed to have 1.5 to two million people, including many of the Kurds who live in Syria.
The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) is the civilian arm of the SDF, which has administered eastern Syria, has been governing Hasakah and eastern Syria.
This is the first major test of having the security forces of Damascus overlap with SDF forces. The US helped train and support the SDF since 2015. It is a largely Kurdish-led force.
Hasakah is a mixed city with Kurds, Arabs, and members of Christian minority groups in Syria, such as Assyrians. As such, it is a symbol of how things might move forward.
Hasakah was once the site of battles between the Syrian regime and ISIS and then between the SDF and ISIS in 2015.
In 2016, the SDF wrested control of some parts of the city from a remaining pocket of Syrian regime control. This was an important symbol of the SDF advance against ISIS and also proof of its capabilities.
The move by the Syrian Interior Ministry into Hasakah is expected to be part of a wider deployment. It is not clear how this will work in Kurdish-majority cities such as Kobane, Qamishli, or Derik.
“A convoy of the Syrian Interior Ministry’s Internal Security Forces will enter the city of Hasakah at 2 p.m.,” a security source told North Press Agency. About 100 Interior Ministry forces had arrived, a source said.
Forces will be stationed in the town of Al-Hawl
“The forces that will enter Hasakah will be stationed in the town of Al-Hawl in the southeastern Hasakah countryside before entering the city,” the report said.
AL-HAWL, sometimes spelled Al-Hol, is also the site of a large detention camp in which members of ISIS families have been staying. The US is busy trying to move many ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq.
“Shortly before the convoy of government security forces entered, warplanes from the international coalition flew over the city of Hasakah,” North Press Agency reported. Many children turned out to celebrate the arrival of the Damascus government forces, the report said, adding that this took place despite a curfew that reportedly had been in place.
The shift in control of Hasakah also comes amid new appointments in the city.
“The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) candidate for governor of Hasaka says an agreement has been reached with the Syrian interim government to nominate him for the post, marking a coordination between the two sides over a senior administrative position after weeks of intense clashes,” Rudaw Media Network, a news channel in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, reported.
“Nour al-Din Ahmed told Rudaw on Sunday that ‘an agreement has been reached between the two sides on my name to assume the position of governor of Hasaka,’” the report said. “He added that he is expected to travel to Damascus within the next two days, where he will meet with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and other senior government officials to finalize the process.”
Meanwhile, a delegation from the Kurdish National Council is also heading to Damascus. The KNC is a Kurdish group that has often been sidelined in SDF-controlled areas, because the SDF is linked to the left-leaning PYD political party, while KNC is seen as being closer to the KDP Kurdish leadership in the Kurdistan Region.
“Syria’s Internal Security Forces moved towards the city of Hasakah on Monday as part of the implementation of an agreement reached between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Interior ministry said,” Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Syria’s official news agency, reported.
“The Syrian government announced on January 30 that it had reached a comprehensive agreement with the SDF providing for a ceasefire and a phased process to integrate military and administrative structures into the State’s institutions,” the report said. “Ahead of the convoy’s entry into the city, the commander of Internal Security Forces in Hasakah province, Brig.-Gen. Marwan al-Ali, gave instructions to security units to carry out their duties in accordance with approved plans, adhere to laws and regulations, and ensure discipline while maintaining public order and protecting citizens and public and private property.”