Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (2012–2014)

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (2012–2013)
Part of the 2012–2013 escalation of the Syrian Civil War, the Rojava conflict, and the Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)

Location of the Hasakah Governorate
Date20 July 2012 – 31 December 2013
(1 year, 4 months, 3 weeks and 5 days)
Location
Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria
Result

Indecisive; YPG and ISIL gains

  • YPG captured all Kurdish-majority towns in the governorate with the exceptions of Qamishli and Hasaka,[5] captured 40% of Qamishli,[6] and took control of al-Yaarubiyah and its border crossing[7]
  • ISIL, al-Nusra, and other Salafist jihadists take control over the majority of the southern Hasaka countryside[1]
Belligerents

 Syrian Arab Republic

Sootoro

Liberation Front of Qamishli[1]

Ghuraba al-Sham
Syrian opposition Free Syrian Army[a]
Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades[3]
Syrian opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission[4]

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Kurdish Supreme Committee

Syriac Union Party

Army of Dignity

Kurdistan Workers' Party
Commanders and leaders

Syria Yusuf al-Abdullah[8]
(Abu Jabal Brigade commander)

Syria Hawas Jammo[8]
(Free Patriots Brigade commander)

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Fahd al-Gaad[9]
(al-Nusra commander)
Saddam al-Jamal
Syrian opposition Capt. Yusuf Yahya[4]
(SRGC 313th Brigade commander)
Syrian opposition Col. Hassan al-Abdullah[9]
(FSA Hasaka Military Council top commander)
Syrian opposition Nawaf Ragheb al-Bashir[10]
(FAEL commander)
Syrian opposition Osama Hilali[11]
(Mashaal Tammo Brigade commander)
Syrian opposition Lt. Col. Abdul Majid Sultan[12]
Syrian opposition Lt. Col. Mustafa Ibrahim[13][b]
(FSA Hasaka Military Council commander)
Lt. Col. Hassan Aboud[14]

(FSA Hasaka Military Council commander)		 Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Sîpan Hemo[15]
(YPG general commander)
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Axin Nujin[16]
(YPJ Rukan Battalion commander)
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Juan Ibrahim
(YPG commander)
"Dijwar"[17]
(Martyr Erdal Brigade commander)
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Hawas al-Akub[18]
(Free Men of the Homeland commander)
Humaydi Daham al-Hadi
(Army of Dignity leader)
Units involved
See order of battle
Casualties and losses
At least 334 killed overall

The al-Hasakah Governorate campaign was a multi-sided military conflict between Syrian government forces, Kurdish forces, armed Syrian opposition groups, and Salafist jihadist forces, including al-Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the al-Nusra Front in the al-Hasakah Governorate as part of the Syrian Civil War. The clashes began with the People's Protection Units (YPG)'s entrance into the civil war in July 2012 and spread across the governorate.

Background[edit]

As of 2011, the Hasakah Governorate had a population of more than 1.5 million people. It is one of the most diverse regions in Syria. The diverse population of the governorate includes Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmen, Circassians, and Yazidis. The Arab tribes in the area are divided into several tribal confederations which play a role in the civil war.[19]

Anti-government protests had been ongoing in the Kurdish-inhabited areas of Syria since March 2011, as part of the wider Syrian uprising, but armed conflict in the region only started after the opposition Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish National Council (KNC) signed a seven-point agreement on 11 June 2012 in Erbil under the auspice of Iraqi Kurdistan president Massoud Barzani. This agreement, however, failed to be implemented. A new cooperation agreement between the two sides was signed on 12 July which saw the creation of the Kurdish Supreme Committee as a governing body of all Kurdish-controlled territories in Syria.[20][21][22]

Order of battle[edit]

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Pro-Kurdish Supreme Committee (DBK) forces[edit]

Syria Pro-government forces[edit]

Rebels[edit]

The campaign[edit]

First week: YPG claims territory[edit]

On 20 July 2012, the YPG took control of the city of Amuda and established checkpoints outside it. The city fell without any major clashes, as the Syrian Army withdrew without any significant resistance and pulled out to fight elsewhere. A joint committee between the PYD and the KNC was planned to take over the administration of captured towns. The city of Derik was expected to be captured hours later. The goal of the KSC was the "full liberation of Syrian Kurdistan", restore peace and order, and to prevent the Free Syrian Army (FSA) from entering Kurdish-majority areas.[30]

On the same day, the Kurdish Coordination Committees, a Kurdish opposition group, demanded Syrian security forces to withdraw from Qamishli, the largest city in Syria with a majority Kurdish population. "Otherwise, they will be forced to leave", the KCC threatened. The YPG then prepared for an operation in Qamishli.[31]

On 21 July, the YPG entered Derik and clashes took place. On the same day, Syrian government forces attacked a patrol of YPG fighters and wounded one fighter.[32] The next day it was reported that Kurdish forces were still fighting for al-Malikiyah, where a Kurdish activist was killed after government security forces opened fire on protesters. The YPG also took control over parts of the towns of Ras al-Ayn (Kurdish: Serê Kaniyê) and al-Darbasiyah (Kurdish: Dirbêsî), after government security and political units withdrew from these areas, following an ultimatum issued by the Kurds. On the same day, clashes erupted in Qamishli between YPG and government forces in which one Kurdish fighter was killed and two were wounded along with a government official.[33]

The ease with which Kurdish forces captured the towns and the government troops pulled back was speculated to be due to the government reaching an agreement with the Kurds so military forces from the area could be freed up to engage rebel forces in the rest of the country.[34] However, Salih Muslim Muhammad, co-leader of the PYD, denied that there was any agreement between the PYD and the government.[35] On 24 July, the PYD announced that Syrian security forces withdrew from the small Kurdish city of 16,000 of al-Ma'bada (Kurdish: Girkê Legê), located between al-Malikiyah and the Syria–Turkey border. The YPG forces afterwards took control of all government institutions in the town.[36]

August–October 2012: YPG consolidates gains[edit]

On 2 August 2012, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change announced that most Kurdish-majority cities in Syria, with the exception of Qamishli and Hasaka, were no longer controlled by government forces and were now being governed by Kurdish political parties.[5] In Qamishli, government military and police forces remained in their barracks and administration officials in the city allowed the Kurdish flag to be raised.[37]

Later in August 2012, 6 military officers who defected from the Syrian Armed Forces, led by Colonel Hassan al-Abdullah, announced the formation of the "Revolutionary Military Council in Hasakah Governorate", part of the Free Syrian Army. On the same day, a FSA group called the "Believers in God Battalion" captured a police station on the road between Aleppo and Hasakah.[38]

On 18 August, the government's intelligence center in Qamishli was bombed. The Hamza Battalion of the FSA claimed responsibility for the bombing. This caused concerns among Kurdish parties in Qamishli as they have refused to allow the FSA to enter Kurdish-majority areas.[28]

On 30 September, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the government intelligence center in Qamishli, killing between 4 and 8 people.[39]

November 2012–January 2013: Islamists join the fight and the Battle of Ras al-Ayn[edit]

Main article: Battle of Ras al-Ayn

On 8 November 2012, Free Syrian Army groups attacked Syrian Army positions in Ras al-Ayn and took control of parts of the city. A correspondent on the ground said that local Kurds aided the FSA in the attack.[40] 300 jihadist fighters from Ghuraba al-Sham then entered the city, although it did not enter the neighbourhoods controlled by the PYD and the latter did not intervene in the clashes between the rebels and the government.[41] Around 10-26 rebels and 20 Syrian soldiers were killed in the fighting, while about 8,000 residents fled to Ceylanpınar as fighting raged.[42][43]

On 10 November, YPG militiamen aided by local Kurds stormed the last government security and administrative stations in the towns of al-Darbasiyah (Kurdish: Dirbêsî) and Tel Tamer. This attack was prompted by violence in Ras al-Ayn where the FSA and Islamist rebels stormed the town because of the presence of government security units.[44] 12 November, the PYD forced the last Syrian government forces to withdraw from Derik.[45]

On 15 November, the rebels led by al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front announced that they had taken full control of Ras al-Ayn, capturing or killing the last remaining Syrian Army soldiers stationed there. There were also no government airstrikes in the town for the first time in three days, as government forces gave up trying to retake the city.[46] Al-Nusra Front fighters summarily executed dozens of Syrian soldiers after they captured a border outpost near Ras al-Ayn. Inside the town, al-Nusra implemented Sharia and burned a liquor store. This caused a confrontation with the YPG.[47]

On 19 November, the Islamist rebels launched an assault on the PYD in Ras al-Ayn[48] A rebel sniper also assassinated Abed Khalil, the president of the local PYD council.[49] By the next, SOHR reported that the death toll in the rebel-PYD fighting in the town had reached 34.[50] The opposition activist group Local Coordination Committees of Syria put the number of deaths at 46.[51] Also on 19 November, members of the al-Nusra Front and Ghuraba al-Sham opened fire on a YPG checkpoint, sparking clashes that killed dozens of people. The rebels planned to launch an offensive in Qamishli, but were stopped by the Assyrian Democratic Organization.[52] Meanwhile, pro-government Arab tribes in Qamishli organized themselves into the Popular Committees and clashed with the PYD.[25]

As a result of the fighting, there was a buildup in the number of forces deployed by both sides in Ras al-Ayn. By 22 November, Kurdish forces had strengthened their numbers to around 400 militiamen, who faced 200 fighters from the al-Nusra Front and 100 fighters from Ghuraba al-Sham.[53] By the same day, the fighting killed more than 54 people. The next day, however, a tenuous two-day ceasefire was announced between Kurdish fighters and the al-Nusra Front and Ghuraba al-Sham in order to determine terms of a possible permanent agreement between the two sides. Prior to this announcement, the PYD claimed that its forces had killed 25 rebels.[54]

Negotiations between the two sides on 4 December resulted in a fragile truce that lasted only until 6 December, when clashes broke out again. From 12 to 14 December, rebels conducted a series of rocket attacks on the town. It was reported that they had also tried and failed to expand fighting to the nearby towns and villages.[55]

Negotiations between the Arab rebels and Kurds resumed on 15 December.[55] An agreement was reached the next day.[56] On 17 December, a ceasefire came into effect between local Kurdish militias and Arab rebels.[57] Under the terms of the ceasefire, both sides were to withdraw from the city, share checkpoints surrounding it, and transfer its administration to local civilian Kurds, Arabs, Chechens, and Christians. Though fighting ended, fighters on both sides failed to withdraw, raising concerns about the strength of the truce.[56]

Fighting in Ras al-Ayn resumed on 17 January 2013.[58] By 22 January, more than 56 people were killed in a week of fighting in Ras al-Ayn.[59]

February 2013: al-Qaeda launches new offensive, ceasefire between YPG and FSA[edit]

See also: Battle of Shaddadi (2013)

On 12 February 2013, the al-Nusra Front launched an offensive on the Syrian Army in the town of al-Shaddadah in the southern Hasaka Governorate. 2 days later, al-Nusra took full control of the town and killed around 100 Syrian soldiers.[60]

On 18 February, an agreement was reached between the Kurdish Supreme Committee and FSA groups in Ras al-Ayn. The terms of agreement include the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Ras al-Ayn, joint checkpoints between the YPG and the FSA, the establishment of a joint city council in Ras al-Ayn, the creation of a local police force, and cooperation between the two groups to fight the Syrian government.[2]

March 2013: YPG take control of oil fields[edit]

Situation in Qamishli, mid-March 2013
Situation in al-Hasakah, mid-March 2013

In March 2013, the YPG surrounded Syrian forces in Rmelan and al-Qahtaniya and took control of the towns without firing a shot. The YPG also took over the oil fields in the area. Meanwhile, further south, multiple rebel groups including Ahrar al-Jazeera, the al-Nusra Front, Ghuraba al-Sham, and Ahrar al-Sham captured the town of al-Yaarubiyah on the Iraq–Syria border.[27] In Qamishli, the PYD controlled 40% of the city while the government controlled the remaining parts.[6] Meanwhile, clashes between rebels and the Syrian Army erupted in Tell Hamis.[16]

April 2013: renewed YPG-government clashes in Qamishli, concurrent rebel offensive[edit]

On 5 April 2013, 3 YPG fighters and 3 Syrian soldiers were killed in clashes in Qamishli city. This marked the first time that Syrian government forces attacked the YPG in Qamishli for several months.[61]

On 13 April, the Syrian Revolution General Commission's 313th Brigade declared the start of a rebel offensive south of Qamishli.[4] The rebels launched an attack on the Syrian Army's 154th Brigade base in southern Qamishli. Both the PYD and the KNC stated their intentions to prevent fighting in the city, but according to al-Akhbar, the rebels contacted the YPG and were given a pathway to attack the base. In response to the rebel offensive, the Syrian Air Force conducted airstrikes on rebel-held villages south of Qamishli.[24] Fighting also reached Qamishli Airport.[62] The battle was described as a "massacre" by UNICEF.[63]

May–September 2013: YPG fully capture Ras al-Ayn; further YPG gains[edit]

In June 2013, clashes between the PYD and anti-PYD protesters took place in Amuda.[64] Opponents of the PYD stated that fighters had opened fire on protesters following tensions with pro-Free Syrian Army youth committees and rival Kurdish groups. The PYD on the other hand stated it had been attacked by a mercenary gang.[65][64]

On 17 July, Kurdish fighters expelled the remaining jihadists of the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from Ras al-Ayn after a night of fighting[66] and soon after took control of the border crossing with Turkey.[67] Islamist forces retreated from Ras al-Ayn to Tal Half, Asfar and Najar, which were under rebel control.[68]

On 19 July, the YPG captured the village of Tal A'lo.[69] Fighting was still continuing in Karhouk and A'li Agha.[70] The next day, Kurdish fighters captured an al-Nusra checkpoint near the contested villages. By this point, 35 jihadists and 19 YPG fighters had been killed in the fighting.[71]

At the end of August 2013, the Syrian Air Force conducted an airstrike on the PYD-held town of Derik.[72]

October–December 2013: YPG capture border town; ISIL offensives[edit]

See also: Battle of al-Yaarubiyah

In October 2013, Ahrar al-Jazeera was expelled from the border town of al-Yaarubiyah by the al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and other Salafist jihadist groups. At the end of the month, YPG forces supported by local Arab tribes and Iraq captured Yarubiya from the jihadists after a 4-day battle.[7]

From October to December 2013, ISIL conducted a campaign of suicide bombings on both YPG and Syrian government's National Defence Forces in Qamishli. Meanwhile, fighting between the YPG and ISIL, supported by al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, escalated in the countryside of Qamishli.[1]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ A number of FSA groups in ceasefire with YPG since February 2013, others continued fighting the YPG.[2]
  2. ^ Unlike most other FSA commanders listed above, Lt. Col. Mustafa Ibrahim had "good ties to a number of Kurdish militia units" in Hasaka and has fought alongside these units against al-Nusra.[13]
  3. ^ Kurdish FSA group which fought alongside al-Nusra against the YPG.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi; Brown Moses (10 December 2013). "The Qamishli Front".
  2. ^ a b "AGREEMENT IN SERÊKANIYÊ BETWEEN YPG AND FSA". Firat News Agency. 18 February 2013.
  3. ^ a b AFP (18 January 2013). "Raging clashes pit Syrian Kurds against jihadists". NOW. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d "Statement of the 313th Brigade on the Battle of Qamishli". Muhammad al-Masri. 13 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b "PYD Press Release: A call for support and protection of the peaceful establishment, the self-governed Rojava region | هيئة التنسيق الوطنية لقوى التغيير الديمقراطي". Syrianncb.org. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b Wladimir van Wilgenburg (7 March 2013). "Syrian Kurdish Militia Takes Over Oil Fields". Al-Monitor.
  7. ^ a b Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi; Fadel al-Kifa'ee (5 November 2013). "The Fall of Yaroubiya to the YPG In Context". Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d Andrea Glioti (13 February 2014). "Syrian Kurds recruit regime loyalists to fight jihadists". al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. ^ a b AFP (20 February 2013). "Syria Islamist-Kurd warring ends as dissident mediates". NOW. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  10. ^ a b Azizi, Bradost (6 February 2013). "Islamists Fighting Kurds in Syria Admit to Turkish Military Support". Rudaw. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  11. ^ a b Wladimir van Wilgenburg (24 November 2013). "Kurdish militia aims to connect Kurdish enclaves in Syria". al-Monitor. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  12. ^ a b "The formation of the band 15 pushes Hasaka to the forefront of military action". Zaman al-Wasl. 9 July 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Selected Supreme Military Council Members" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War.
  14. ^ "News of the appointment of Major General Mansoura governor of Hasaka and the Free Army vows". Zaman al-Wasl. 17 December 2012.
  15. ^ Mutlu Civiroglu (23 September 2013). "YPG Commander Sipan Hemo: 'Give Us Real Support'". Rudaw.
  16. ^ a b c Jan Kalan (3 March 2013). "Formation the first battalion of women's protection units in western Kurdistan".
  17. ^ a b "YPG: We clear Serikani off the bandit groups". Rojhelat.info. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  18. ^ a b Wladimir van Wilgenburg (13 December 2013). "Kurdish Strategy Towards Ethnically-Mixed Areas in the Syrian Conflict". Jamestown Foundation.
  19. ^ Nicholas A. Heras (24 October 2013). "THE BATTLE FOR SYRIA'S AL-HASAKAH PROVINCE". Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Syrian Kurds Try to Maintain Unity". Rudaw. 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  21. ^ "Syria: Massive protests in Qamishli, Homs". CNTV. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  22. ^ "Syrian Kurdish Official: Now Kurds are in Charge of their Fate". Rudaw. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  23. ^ Hassan Hassan (2017), p. 3.
  24. ^ a b Youssef Sheikho (19 April 2013). "Syria: Qamishli's Kurds Fight Two Enemies at Once". Al-Akhbar. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  25. ^ a b Nicholas A. Heras, Carole A. O'Leary (27 June 2013). "The Tribal Factor in Syria's Rebellion: A Survey of Armed Tribal Groups in Syria". Jamestown Foundation.
  26. ^ a b c Loveday Morris (26 July 2013). "Syrian Kurds' struggle for autonomy threatens rebel effort to oust Assad". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Arab Tribes Split Between Kurds And Jihadists". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  28. ^ a b "Explosion at intelligence center in Qamishli, Syrian Kurdistan". Ekurd.net. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  29. ^ a b Metzger, Nils (28 March 2013). "Bürgerkrieg in Syria: Jedem seine eigene Rebellengruppe" [Civil war in Syria: Everyone has their own rebel group]. TAZ (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  30. ^ "More Kurdish Cities Liberated As Syrian Army Withdraws from Area". Rudaw. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  31. ^ Guillaume Perrier (23 July 2012). "The Kurds of the PKK on the offensive against the regime of Damascus". Le Monde.
  32. ^ "Clashes between Kurds and Syrian army in the Kurdish city of Qamişlo, Western Kurdistan". Ekurd.net. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  33. ^ "Armed Kurds Surround Syrian Security Forces in Qamishli". Rudaw. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  34. ^ "Fighting in Syria indicates Bashar Assad's end isn't imminent". Charlotteobserver.com. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.[dead link]
  35. ^ Jomaa Akkash (24 September 2012). "Syrian Kurds move to rule themselves as Assad's grip loosens". Al Arabiya English. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  36. ^ "Girke Lege Becomes Sixth Kurdish City Liberated in Syria". Rudaw. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  37. ^ "Syria – News". Peter Clifford Online. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  38. ^ "Five officers, including a colonel announce the formation of a military council in Al-Hasakah". Aksalser. 16 August 2012.
  39. ^ "Syria suicide blast kills 4 at security compound". CBS News. Associated Press. 30 September 2012.
  40. ^ "مراسل الكردية نيوز: مقاتلون كرد يحاربون إلى جانب الجيش الحر في مدينة "سري كانيه"". Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  41. ^ "Kurds Caught in Crossfire In Northwest Syria Battle". Ekurd. 15 November 2012.
  42. ^ Matthew Weaver (8 November 2012). "Assad vows to 'live and die' in Syria - Thursday 8 November 2012". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  43. ^ "Thousands Flee Syria as Fighting Continues". Arutz Sheva. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  44. ^ "Kurds seize two towns in Syria's northeast, watchdog says". Now Lebanon. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  45. ^ Jose Miguel Calatayud (20 November 2012). "Kurds oust Syrian forces from northern towns". Al Jazeera English.
  46. ^ "Community news from Biloxi and Gulfport, MS - Sun Herald". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  47. ^ "Al Qaida-linked group Syria rebels once denied now key to anti-Assad victories". McClatchydc. 2 December 2012.
  48. ^ "Syria rebels clash with armed Kurds". Al Jazeera English. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  49. ^ "Final death toll for Monday 19/11/2012: Approximately 134 Syrians were killed". Facebook. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  50. ^ "Syria troops besiege town near Damascus". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  51. ^ Ivan Watson; Ammar Cheikh Omar (20 November 2012). "Dozens dead after clashes in Syrian border town". CNN. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  52. ^ "Assyrian Party Mediated a Ceasefire in Syria". Assyrian International News Agency. 28 November 2012.
  53. ^ "Jihadist rebels in standoff with Syria Kurds: NGO". Al Arabiya. AFP/Reuters. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-07. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  54. ^ van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (24 November 2012). "Kurdish Fighters and Syrian Rebels Announce Fragile Ceasefire". Rudaw. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  55. ^ a b "Raʾs al-ʿAyn: Ceasefire between PYD and FSA is fragile". KurdWatch. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  56. ^ a b "Raʾs al-ʿAyn: No easing of tensions despite agreement between PYD and Free Syrian Army". KurdWatch. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  57. ^ "Cessez-le-feu à Rass al-Ain" (in French). ActuKurde. 17 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  58. ^ "Fighting continues across Syria". Syria Live Blog. Al Jazeera English. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  59. ^ "Syrian rebels clash with Kurds in northeast: activists". Reuters. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  60. ^ "Preliminary death toll for Thursday 14/2/2013". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  61. ^ Wladimir van Wilgenburg (5 April 2013). "Conflict Intensifies in Kurdish Area of Syria". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  62. ^ "Syrian rebel attack on Kurdish Qamishli city in Syrian Kurdistan points to end of peace pact". Reuters. 13 April 2013.
  63. ^ "Children of Syria - A UNICEF update". UNICEF. 25 April 2013.
  64. ^ a b "Kurdish militia kills three protesters in Syria town: activists". The Daily Star. Agence France-Presse. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  65. ^ Glioti, Andrea (1 July 2013). "Syrian Kurdish Group Linked to PKK Kills Protesters". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  66. ^ "Jihadists expelled from flashpoint Kurdish Syrian town, NGO says". AFP. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  67. ^ AFP, "Syrie: les Kurdes infligent une cuisante défaite aux jihadistes", L'Orient le Jour, 17 July 2013.
  68. ^ "YPG clears Serekaniye of armed groups". Support Kurds in Syria. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  69. ^ "Friday 19 July 2013". Support Kurds in Syria. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  70. ^ "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Reports On PKK-Qaida Fight". Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  71. ^ "Syria Kurds expel jihadists, seize weapons: NGO". Fox News. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  72. ^ Youssef Sheikho (22 August 2013). "Syrian Kurdish Fronts Exhaust Islamist Battalions". Al-Akhbar. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.

Works cited[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Hasakah_Governorate_campaign_(2012–2014)&oldid=1195112538"