Syrian officials, Kurds meet to end violence in Qamishly

Syrian officials and representatives of the Kurdish forces met on Friday in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Qamishly to reach a truce to the clashes that erupted two days ago between the Kurdish forces and the government National Defense Forces (NDF), pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The meeting took place under an Iranian and Russian mediation, said the report.

Meanwhile, Kurdish activists said the government and the Kurdish People's Protection Units, YPG, have actually reached an agreement Friday to end the violence, while the truce will see the release of prisoners from both sides.

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 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.

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.

Source: XINHUA