Illustrative image.
On November 12, heavy clashes broke out between two groups of the Hamzah Division in the Turkish-occupied town of Ras al-Ain in the northern countryside of the northeastern Syrian province of al-Hasakah.
The Hamzah Division is a key faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, which rules over Turkish-occupied areas in northern and northeastern Syria.
According to Syrian activists, the clashes broke out when militants of a Hamzah Division group led by a local warlord known as “al-Muali” attempted to take over the Silos headquarters which controls a highly-profitable smuggling route with nearby Kurdish-held areas. This triggered another group of the faction led by a warlord known as “Abu Said”.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that a militant was killed and many others were wounded as a result of the clashes. However, other news sources put the death toll at five.
Click to see full-size map. Source: (@Suriyakmaps) on Twitter, Via Google Maps – TerraMetrics.
Such confrontations are quite common in Turkish-occupied areas in northern and northeastern Syria. A day earlier, clashes broke out between the al-Sham Corps and Ahrar al-Sharqiyah in the Turkish-occupied part of the northern Raqqa countryside. Several militants were wounded.
Turkey has been doing nothing whatsoever to secure and stabilize the Syrian areas occupied by its forces and proxies. Ankara is currently busy preparing an offensive against Kurdish forces in northern and northeastern Syria.
Send them more crates of whiskey. It seems to be working.