Asayish co-chair in AANES to Shafaq News: Asayish would never point their weapons towards civilians

Shafaq News/ The co-chair of the Interior Authority for The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria announced, on Wednesday, that life is back to normal in the cities of Qamishli and al-Hasakah after days of security turmoil, noting that materials and goods are now allowed to enter the areas controlled by the Syrian Regime Forces in the two cities.

The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration controls Al-Hasakah governorate, while the Syrian government controls the international airport and neighborhoods inside the cities of al-Hasaka and Qamishli and about 40 villages in the southern and eastern countryside of Qamishli.

The internal security forces (Asayish) tightened their security measures in the vicinity of the security square in al-Hasakah, following the escalation of tension between the two parties after the government forces imposed a siege on areas with Kurdish majority in Aleppo.

Samar Hussein, the co-chair of the Interior Authority in the Ministry of Interior told Shafaq News agency, "The cities of Qamishli and al-Hasaka have recently witnessed security tension due to the problems that the National Defense Militia -linked to the Syrian government- has started, the most prominent of which was arresting young men, and the continuous attempts to provoke the Asayish such attacking their checkpoints and pushing civilians -most of whom were Syrian government employees- to demonstrate."

The National Defense militia is a popular force consisted of some Arab tribes loyal to the Syrian government. It is accused of committing numerous violations against citizens in al-Hasaka and Qamishli.

Hussein added that this militia, "deliberately pushed the demonstrators to our checkpoints and used them as human shields with the aim of shedding blood and accusing the Asayish of it, as happened several days ago when a citizen was killed and four others were wounded by the National Defense Forces. However, the footage that were circulated soon revealed that the dead man was a security agent in military clothing, and one of the wounded is a soldier in civilian clothes. This came in contrast to what Damascus media claimed that the dead man was a civilian, as the National Defense members wore civilian clothes in demonstrations to achieve their malicious goals."

"We affirm that the Asayish cannot, under any circumstances, point their weapons towards civilians. How can they harm people while they are the forces in charge of maintaining the security and stability of the region?"

The co-chair of the Interior Authority in the Autonomous Administration, added, "The Syrian government started causing trouble several months ago by blocking the areas of al-Shahba and some Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo and preventing the arrival of food, medicine, and even fuel. They went further by hindering emergency cases from reaching Aleppo and Damascus to seek the necessary medical care. With all the National Defense attempts and its efforts to breach security and raise tension, the Internal Security Forces exhibited self-restrain. The Asayish's recent initiative to allow goods to enter the security squares to ultimately soothe the tension and preserve Syrian blood was an evident proof of this intention."

She noted, "Even before the Asayish initiative, all those living in the security squares were able to move freely and get everything they need without any restrictions."

"We call on all our people, regardless of their preferences, not to be drawn into the attempts of sedition that target the unity and cohesion of the components in northeastern Syria, especially the Kurdish and Arab components. We affirm that the Asayish forces will continue to fulfill their mission in consolidating security and stability within our regions, as any citizen's safety, whoever he was, is among the priorities of our work. We will not allow anyone to harm them."

Russia's efforts to deescalate the tension between the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian government in the region have not found success so far, amid the Asayish tightening of its security measures around the areas controlled by the Syrian government.

The cities of Qamishli and al-Hasaka are witnessing a state of tension between the Asayish forces and the Syrian government forces, due to mutual arrests between the two parties since the end of last year.