Kurds advance in Syria city as Russian mediation fails

Brother of Omran, Syrian boy in haunting picture, dies of wounds

AFP, HASAKEH: Kurdish fighters advanced in the flashpoint city of Hasakeh in northeast Syria after a Russian mediation bid failed to halt clashes with pro-regime forces, a monitoring group said Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a military source said the Kurds seized territory across several neighbourhoods in the city’s south in violent clashes on Saturday night.
The Britain-based Observatory said Kurds advanced in Zuhur, while a Kurdish military source told AFP that they pushed forward in Al-Nashwa and Ghweiran.
A local journalist working for AFP said he saw members of the pro-government National Defence Forces militia retreating from Al-Nashwa.
Regime aircraft flew over the city early Sunday morning, most of which is under Kurdish control, but without carrying out any bombing raids, the Observatory said.
In an escalation of Syria’s five-year war, regime planes on Wednesday bombarded positions held by US-backed Kurdish forces in the city fighting the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
The unprecedented strikes prompted the US-led coalition to scramble aircraft to protect its special operations forces helping the Kurdish fighters.
Fighting between a pro-government militia and Kurdish forces since Wednesday has left at least 43 people dead including 27 civilians, among them 11 children, according to the Observatory.
Thousands of civilians have fled the city.
Al-Masdar News, a pro-regime website, said renewed clashes broke out Saturday after the failure of mediation efforts in the neighbouring city of Qamishli by a Russian military delegation.
It said the government had rejected a Kurdish demand for pro-regime militiamen to withdraw from Hasakeh, instead proposing that both sides disarm.
A senior regime source told AFP that Russian efforts at mediation continued into Sunday. The regime and Kurdish forces share a common enemy in IS, but there have been growing tensions between them in Hasakeh.
In the northern province of Aleppo, the scene of heavy clashes all month between government forces and rebels allied with jihadists, 28 civilians were among 38 people killed Saturday in strikes by the regime and its Russian allies, the Observatory said.
More than 290,000 people have lost their lives since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
Meanwhile, the older brother of the little Syrian boy who was pictured sitting in an ambulance dazed and covered in blood after an air strike, died Saturday from wounds sustained in the attack on the family’s apartment, a monitoring group said.
“Ali, aged 10, succumbed to his injuries. He was badly wounded in the same bombardment as Omran on August 17 in Aleppo,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The haunting images of four-year-old Omran, sitting in an ambulance after the attack, his face, arms and legs caked in blood and dust, have reverberated around the world, becoming a symbol for the suffering of children in Syria’s brutal five-year conflict.
In video footage from the incident, Omran is seen quietly staring into space before raising his arms to touch his bloodied forehead, then looking at his hand and wiping it on the orange seat.
Omran, his siblings and parents were all plucked from the rubble wounded, but alive, following Wednesday’s bombing on the Qaterji neighbourhood in rebel-held east Aleppo.
The Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists in the divided northern city, confirmed Ali’s death in a video on Saturday.
The images of Omran have sparked a global outcry, much like the photo last September of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed ashore on a Turkish beach as his family tried to reach Europe.
More than 290,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict broke out, including nearly 15,000 children.
Omran’s home city Aleppo has been divided by government control in the west and opposition fighters in the east since 2012.
Regime warplanes, backed by Russia’s air force since September 2015, bombard the eastern districts while rebel groups fire rockets into the west.
Of the estimated 250,000 people still living in the eastern parts of the city, 100,000 are children, according to the UN’s children agency UNICEF.

Kurds advance in Syria city as Russian mediation fails

Brother of Omran, Syrian boy in haunting picture, dies of wounds

AFP, HASAKEH: Kurdish fighters advanced in the flashpoint city of Hasakeh in northeast Syria after a Russian mediation bid failed to halt clashes with pro-regime forces, a monitoring group said Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a military source said the Kurds seized territory across several neighbourhoods in the citys south in violent clashes on Saturday night. The Britain-based Observatory said Kurds advanced in Zuhur, while a Kurdish military source told AFP that they pushed forward in Al-Nashwa and Ghweiran. A local journalist working for AFP said he saw members of the pro-government National Defence Forces militia retreating from Al-Nashwa. Regime aircraft flew over the city early Sunday morning, most of which is under Kurdish control, but without carrying out any bombing raids, the Observatory said. In an escalation of Syrias five-year war, regime planes on Wednesday bombarded positions held by US-backed Kurdish forces in the city fighting the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group. The unprecedented strikes prompted the US-led coalition to scramble aircraft to protect its special operations forces helping the Kurdish fighters. Fighting between a pro-government militia and Kurdish forces since Wednesday has left at least 43 people dead including 27 civilians, among them 11 children, according to the Observatory. Thousands of civilians have fled the city. Al-Masdar News, a pro-regime website, said renewed clashes broke out Saturday after the failure of mediation efforts in the neighbouring city of Qamishli by a Russian military delegation. It said the government had rejected a Kurdish demand for pro-regime militiamen to withdraw from Hasakeh, instead proposing that both sides disarm. A senior regime source told AFP that Russian efforts at mediation continued into Sunday. The regime and Kurdish forces share a common enemy in IS, but there have been growing tensions between them in Hasakeh. In the northern province of Aleppo, the scene of heavy clashes all month between government forces and rebels allied with jihadists, 28 civilians were among 38 people killed Saturday in strikes by the regime and its Russian allies, the Observatory said. More than 290,000 people have lost their lives since Syrias conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions have been forced to flee their homes. Meanwhile, the older brother of the little Syrian boy who was pictured sitting in an ambulance dazed and covered in blood after an air strike, died Saturday from wounds sustained in the attack on the familys apartment, a monitoring group said. Ali, aged 10, succumbed to his injuries. He was badly wounded in the same bombardment as Omran on August 17 in Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The haunting images of four-year-old Omran, sitting in an ambulance after the attack, his face, arms and legs caked in blood and dust, have reverberated around the world, becoming a symbol for the suffering of children in Syrias brutal five-year conflict. In video footage from the incident, Omran is seen quietly staring into space before raising his arms to touch his bloodied forehead, then looking at his hand and wiping it on the orange seat. Omran, his siblings and parents were all plucked from the rubble wounded, but alive, following Wednesdays bombing on the Qaterji neighbourhood in rebel-held east Aleppo. The Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists in the divided northern city, confirmed Alis death in a video on Saturday. The images of Omran have sparked a global outcry, much like the photo last September of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed ashore on a Turkish beach as his family tried to reach Europe. More than 290,000 people have been killed since Syrias conflict broke out, including nearly 15,000 children. Omrans home city Aleppo has been divided by government control in the west and opposition fighters in the east since 2012. Regime warplanes, backed by Russias air force since September 2015, bombard the eastern districts while rebel groups fire rockets into the west. Of the estimated 250,000 people still living in the eastern parts of the city, 100,000 are children, according to the UNs children agency UNICEF.