Clashes erupted on Saturday between Kurdish fighters and Syrian troops in the center of Qamishli city in northeastern Syria.
According to Kurdish sources, the fighting has left at least 18 people dead.
The clashes took place after a Syrian military convoy entered areas of the city that the internal security forces of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia said were under its control.
“They entered our areas of control and arrested civilians and members of the patrol targeted our forces,” the internal security forces, known as the Asayish, said in a statement.
Kurdish forces said seven of its fighters and 11 Syrian soldiers were killed in Saturday’s violence.
Sources loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government told state media that a military patrol was attacked by Kurdish forces while on its way to the airport. It said several troops were killed.
The Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), controls most of the city while pro-Assad forces hold the airport and part of its center.
Fighting in Qamishli erupts occasionally, disturbing a peaceful co-existence where the Syrian state has slowly expanded its influence, residents say.
President Assad has turned a blind eye to YPG control of Kurdish-populated cities since the 2011 uprising in which his army has focused on fighting mainly Sunni rebel factions seeking to topple his rule.
But Assad still maintains control on the ground. The Syrian government still pays salaries to many state employees in Kurdish areas and still takes a share of proceeds from oilfields now under Kurdish control.
The SDF has expanded beyond mainly Kurdish parts of the north, where the forces have carved out autonomous cantons since the onset of Syria’s conflict.
The region they control spreads across much of northern and eastern Syria, which is rich in farmland, oil and water.
Senior members of the YPG have recently held talks with Syrian officials seeking a political deal that would allow Kurds to retain some level of autonomy under Syria.
