Battle of Qamishli (April 2016)

Part of the Rojava conflict and the Syrian Civil War

Asayish forces during the clashes

Date	20–22 April 2016 (2 days)
Location	Qamishli, al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria
Result	Ceasefire

Belligerents

Rojava

Asayish
- Special Security Forces (HAT)
YPG
Self Defence Force (HPC)

Syrian Arab Republic

Commanders and leaders

Heval Redur
(Asayish commander)

Unknown

Casualties and losses

16 killed

22–31 killed, 80–102 captured

17–23 civilians killed

Rojava

Syrian Arab Republic

The Battle of Qamishli (April 2016) was a violent urban battle between the paramilitary police of the Asayish and the pro-government National Defence Forces in the city of Qamishli, Syria.

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 a 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 in captured areas. In response, the Syrian Army shelled the prison and surrounding areas with mortars, killing 4 civilians in the nearby neighborhoods. On the same day, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed a car bomb attack that killed and wounded 15 Kurdish fighters in the city. In the evening, the NDF and Sootoro reversed some of Asayish's gains and captured two checkpoints, a stadium, and a hospital in the city.

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Wikipedia