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Calm prevails Syria's Qamishly following truce deal between Syrian officials, Kurds

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Calm has prevailed the northeastern city of Qamishly, following a truce agreed upon Friday between Syrian officials and Kurdish fighters, a well-informed source in the city told Xinhua.

Earlier on Friday, a group of Syrian officials, including top military personnel, held a five-hours meeting with Kurdish officials at the airport of Qamishly.

The two sides agreed to a cease-fire in the city, following two days of flaring clashes between Kurdish fighters and soldiers with the National Defense Forces (NDF), which fight alongside the Syrian army.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russians and Iranians attended the meeting, in a bid to mediate the truce.

The eruption of violence in Qamishly was the first to take place between the Syrian forces and the Kurds. The two have an undeclared coordination in the battle against the Islamic State (IS) group in the al-Hasakah province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said the violence broke out after the two arrested fighters from each other.

At least 10 government NDF soldiers were killed and 20 others were arrested by the Kurds, said the Observatory, adding that four Kurdish security forces of Assayish were also killed as well as two civilians, including a child.

The source also said that both sides are set to meet again on Saturday to discuss the release of prisoners from both sides, as well as returning control of areas that fell to the Kurds, as they have captured the prison of Qamishly and besieged the security zone, which is under the Syrian government control.

During the past two days, many of those who live on front-lines left their homes, and marketplaces were deserted.

The Kurds, who make up 15 percent of Syria's 23 million inhabitants with most living in the north of the embattled country, tried during the conflict to keep their areas away from military operations and retain the kind of "autonomy."

In mid-2012, Syrian troops withdrew from most of the Kurdish areas, and Kurdish militia took over local security. The government, however, is still in control of vital areas in the city of Qamishly and the al-Hasakah province.

Following the surge of the IS militants in July 2014, and their capture of Kurdish areas in northern Syria, the U.S.-led coalition has begun to help the Kurds in their battles against the extremists.

Last month, the Kurds voted in favor of establishing a federal region, which would include areas in northern Syria on a triangular-basis, including the predominantly Kurdish strongholds of Kobani, Afreen and the al-Jazeera region. Enditem