Syria Kurds, Extremist Armed Groups in Fresh Battles

Local Editor

Fresh battles broke out Tuesday in strategic, majority Kurdish areas in Syria, as extremist armed groups and the main Kurdish party fought each other for control.

In the northeastern province of Hasakeh, "clashes broke out at dawn pitting the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People against the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" [ISIS], al-Nusra Front and other battalions."

The fighting hit Dardara, Hmeid and Jafa villages, and others surrounding the strategic town of Ras al-Ain, near the Turkish border.
The fighting comes days after extremists linked to al-Qaeda pressed a fresh offensive to take control of majority Kurdish areas.

Violence has been so fierce in recent days that some 30,000 Syrians, mostly Kurds, have fled to neighboring Iraq, the UN said on Monday.
"There is a war for territory, control and oil," said Havidar, a Kurdish activist from Ras al-Ain, who added that the town is important because it is a key gateway from Turkey into Syria.

The Kurdish Democratic Union Party, the largest in the area and the group that dominates the YPG, has announced plans for autonomy in Kurdish areas.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team