The 2016 Battle of Qamishli was a violent urban battle between the Asayish police of the

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, M ...

and the pro-

Syrian government Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...

National Defence Forces The National Defence Forces (NDF) ( ar, قوات الدفاع الوطني ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') is a pro-government militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War as a ...

in the city of

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

The battle

On 20 April 2016, National Defence Forces militias attacked an Asayish patrol when Kurdish police failed to stop at a government checkpoint inside the Qamishli District. According to Kurdish sources the NDF killed 2 Asayish members and 2 civilians with sniper fire. Additional clashes then escalated between the two factions, with Asayish forces taking part in the fighting, killing 8 NDF members and arresting others. The next day, the Asayish encircled government forces in the center of the city, taking over a bakery and the besieged Allaya Prison, with five Asayish fighters being killed. 45 NDF militiamen surrendered and several civilians were killed. During the battle Asayish forces removed a poster of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

in captured areas. In response, the

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

shelled the prison and surrounding areas with mortars, killing 4 civilians in the nearby neighborhoods. On the same day, the

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claimed a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

attack that killed and wounded 15 Kurdish fighters in the city. In the evening, the NDF and

Sootoro The Gozarto Protection Forces ( syr, ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, ar, سوتورو, GPF) and Sootoro ( syr, ܣܘܬܪܐ), united as one organisation, are a regional militia based in Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria, composed o ...

reversed some of Asayish's gains and captured two checkpoints, a stadium, and a hospital in the city. An indefinite ceasefire was declared on 22 April. According to the ceasefire agreement, each side will keep the territory under its control. The ceasefire gave the Kurds control of more territory in Northern Syria.

Aftermath

Nearly two dozen of the captured pro-government fighters were subsequently released under the terms of the ceasefire on 25 April.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Qamishli (2016)

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

April 2016 events in Syria

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

Al-Hasakah Governorate in the Syrian civil war

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

The battle

Aftermath

See also

References